Phoenix
by NanouBE76
Summary: Ten years ago a tragic incident left Fitz broken, part of him had died, he was hollow inside. It had been nothing that Mellie or Olivia could have fixed. Yet when the Phoenix rises from its ashes, will it bring Fitz to being the way he used to be? What impact will the Phoenix have on the others?
1. Operation Phoenix

Fitz was sitting at his desk in the Oval Office. He signed one of the documents that was pending his approval, put it back in the file and turned his chair to look outside. The sun was setting. It had been a beautiful May day but he had not seen much of it. He had been cooped up in his office all day aside from a quick lunch in the residence with Olivia. Things with Olivia were on the mends and she had finally agreed to move back into the residence and be by his side but on her own terms. There was no talk of marriage, at least not until he was president, she remained independent and working. Even though she was considered as "The First Lady" by being in a steady relationship with him, he was in no way to expect her to be anything like Mellie. She wasn't Mellie and if that was what he wanted then he should take Mellie back. Fitz didn't care, all he wanted was to have Olivia by his side!

There was a knock on the door and he pivoted his chair back as his assistant opened it.

"Excuse me Mr. President, I have General Sherwood asking to see you. He says it's urgent".

Fitz stood from his chair. "Show him in, please".

The assistant nodded as she left the door opened and told General Sherwood he could go in.

Fitz walked around his desk and met the General as he entered the Oval Office.

The men shook hands.

"Mr. President".

"General Sherwood. It's been awhile, how are you"?

"I'm fine Mr. President, thank you".

Fitz motioned to the sofas and both men sat across from each other.

"So, what can I do for you Michael"?

The General leaned across the table and placed a file on it. "It's more what I can do for you Mr. President".

He paused a moment before continuing. "It's about Operation Phoenix, Sir".

Fitz's heart started to beat faster as he leaned in to take the file the General had placed on the table. "What about Operation Phoenix"?

"The Phoenix has been located, Sir"!

Fitz's heart beat even faster.

He stood with the file in hand and walked over to the window. He didn't know whether or not he wanted to open it, he was afraid of what the outcome was.

"How sure are we that it is the Phoenix"?

"90% sure, Mr. President".

Fitz swallowed. "D or A"?

"A, is all we know for the moment Sir. We have no further details".

"Where"?

"In Zurbatiyah, a city in Iraq not far from the Iranian border".

Fitz nodded as he finally decided to open the file. He flipped through the different documents carefully as the General said nothing. He finally closed the file and turned to General Sherwood.

"I want an extraction of the Phoenix ASAP"!

Michael was not surprised by the President's request. Ever since the Phoenix had been located, he knew that this would be the next step. He already had men in the area waiting for his instructions.

"Naturally, Mr. President".

Fitz walked behind his office and place the file on his desk keeping on hand on it.

"How soon can we go into action"?

Michael stood and placed himself on the other side of Fitz's desk.

"Mr. President, I have a Navy Seals team in the area waiting for our instructions. The best would be to do it at night. So we are looking at between 20 to 22 hours from now".

Fitz felt like that would be forever but he knew that going in to early and unprepared was not the right solution either.

"Ok then, get your team ready. I want to be in the Situation Room and follow the whole operation as it unfolds. Now Michael, this is a highly confidential Operation. I only want the highest Military Officials in on this, no one from my staff, not even my Chief of Staff, is that understood"?

Michael nodded. "Of course Mr. President. As far as I'm concerned our meeting here is about allocating budget to the different US Military bases overseas".

General Sherwood headed for the door. "I'll let you know when we are ready, Mr. President".

Once Michael had left the office, Fitz walked over to the side table, grabbed a glass and served himself a scotch. He headed back to his desk and sat down. He looked again at the file on his desk and opened it. He once again flipped through the pages in the file. He took a big gulp of scotch as he felt his eyes were about to tear up.

The door opened and Olivia walked in. Fitz instantly closed the file and placed another one on it before she could see what was written on it.

She walked over to him, kissed him and leaned up against the desk by his side.

"You look like you've had a rough day. Are you Ok"?

He took her hand in his. "I'm fine, all I need is a quiet dinner with you, a long hot sexy shower with you and then a decent night's sleep"!

Olivia smiled at him. "Oh, a long hot sexy shower with me huh? Didn't we have one of those this morning"?

Fitz's serious face changed into a smile. "Who's counting"?

Olivia shrugged. "Not me, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't because you didn't remember how great it was this morning, that you wanted to have a long hot shower with me again".

He slid her alongside the desk and placed her right in front of him. "I do remember how amazing it was this morning, that's why you've got me asking for more"!

She leaned in closer to him. Almost pressing herself into him. "Tell you what, let's skip dinner and go right to mind-blowing sex! Are you finished for the day"?

His eyes grew bigger with excitement upon hearing her proposal. "You know I'm never finished working but if we don't go in that shower very fast, I'm going to take you on this desk and that could lead to a lot of problems"!

Olivia turned her head and looked at the position where the hidden cameras were. "Ok then, I'm giving you ten minutes to meet me in the residence and in the shower"! She kissed him passionately, just enough to make the heat rise and then she left the Office.

Fitz took another sip of Scotch, took the file on Operation Phoenix and placed it safely in one of his office drawers, before leaving the Oval Office and heading for the residence.

The next day he paced back and worth as he waited to hear from General Sherwood. Even if Olivia had given him an amazing work out and he had been tired from their passionately lovemaking he had not been able to sleep much. Olivia had been called in the office for an important new client and it was better that way. He skipped breakfast and lunch. He was so tense there would have been no way he could have kept something down. He pretended to work all day when people entered his office but his mind was elsewhere.

At 5PM his phone rang.

"Yes"?

"Mr. President, General Sherwood. We are ready and waiting for you in the Situation Room".

Fitz's hand shook as he held the receiver. "Thank you General, I'm on my way"!

He left his office and walked to the Situation Room followed by his detail of Secret Service agents.

As he entered the room he turned to them as well as the MPs. "No one is to come into this room".

Fitz closed the door behind him. He shook hands with General Sherwood and the remaining members of his team and sat down. The screen was on and they could see thanks to the infrared camera that the Navy Seals team was on standby waiting for the green light.

Michael looked at Fitz. "Sir, all they need is your go ahead and they are good to go".

Fitz joined hands and placed them to his mouth. Was it a prayer? Was it a last minute thought and making sure he was doing the right thing? No one knew but when he separated his hands and placed them flat down on the table, there was no doubt as to what they were to do.

"General please advise your men to retrieve the Phoenix and they have the authorization to fire back if fired upon".

Michael nodded and pushed on the intercom button. "Silver-Knights, you are a go for the mission. You have full authorization to fire back if fired upon. Do you copy"?

"Roger that General. Silver-knights are on the move".

Fitz watched the action unfold on the screen, barely able to breathe. He was literally sitting on the edge of his seat. He could hear his heart beating throughout his entire body as the Navy Seals did their job. Shots were fired, they fired back. They were calm and organized but you could feel the tension and the chaos of the moment. Doors opened, shots were fired, stairs were climbed, corridors were taken, at times they paused waiting for the opportune moment to proceed, then resumed.

Then the words he thought he would never hear took over the Situation Room.

"Phoenix is in custody; Silver-Knights proceed to the designated extraction point"!

The Navy Seals retreated and exited the building and met the choppers at the extraction point.

"General, this is Major Thompson. Mission complete, headed back to base. Over and out"!

The men in the room clapped and cheered at this more than exemplary mission.

Every inch of Fitz's body was shaking. What he had dreamed of for the past 10 years of his life had finally come true. The nightmare was over. It was time to bring the Phoenix home!


	2. Evaluating the situation

The President's motorcade stopped in front of the back entrance of the John Madison Hospital. He needed to be discreet. No one aside of authorized personnel and staff were to know that he was there.

Fitz stepped out of the motorcade and entered the building followed by 3 of his secret service agents. They took the staff elevator to the 4th floor and were met by General Sherwood.

The two men shook hands.

"Michael, I want an update on the Phoenix".

Michael nodded as the men walked away from the elevator down the hallway.

"Primary assessment and exams were done at our medical facility in Landstuhl, Germany. The file was transferred here to Dr. Wagner. He is waiting for you in the debrief room, Mr. President".

The men paused in front of the meeting room door, that had been turned into a debrief room.

"Michael, what does the Phoenix know about the situation"?

"You mean about the extraction and you, Sir"?

Fitz nodded 'yes'.

"Nothing Sir. We have followed all your instructions".

Fitz placed his hand on Michael's shoulder as a sign of recognition and both men entered the room.

A group of doctors sat around a big oval table. They all stood as the President walked in.

Fitz shook their hands. "Gentlemen, please sit down". Once they were seated he in turn sat down with Michael.

The doctor in the middle spoke first. "Mr. President, I am Doctor Wagner, head of the hospital and these are my colleagues: Doctor Murray, head of General Medicine and Surgery and Doctor Finley, head of Psychiatry and Psychology".

Fitz nodded in acknowledgement.

Doctor Wagner continued. "We received the preliminary report on the Phoenix and have in turn proceeded with further exams and evaluations".

Fitz took a deep breath in. "What are we looking at exactly"?

Dr. Wagner nodded in Dr. Murray's direction asking him to take the lead.

"Mr. President, overall the Phoenix's health condition is good. The scans and MRIs we've done have shown an enormous amount of fractures, some recent and others older, that have seemed to have healed on their own relatively well. We are looking at fractures in the arms, legs, clavicles and ribs. Luckily, the spine has remained untouched".

He paused a moment at the sight of Fitz decomposing as he took all the information in.

"None of the vital organs are showing signs of distress. There is no sign of neurological deterioration or damage. Blood test results reveal different vitamin deficiency and a low cholesterol but all these can be resolved rather quickly. The Phoenix was the majority of the time in a dark environment with little if no light, therefore we are slowly increasing the brightness to allow the eyes to readapt properly. I have to be honest Mr. President, I was expecting a lot worse. The Phoenix is extremely lucky and strong".

Fitz said nothing but nodded in agreement.

"Mr. President, I'm Doctor Marcus Finley. I have been asked to do a psychiatric and psychological evaluation of the Phoenix and I must align myself with Dr. Murray. The Phoenix shows no signs of instability. No indications of uncontrolled emotions. This being said however, I feel the Phoenix needs to be followed by myself or my staff in order to prevent or manage any form of PTSD that may arise and even if my wish is for it not to, it would be unprofessional of me not to take this eventuality seriously. We also have support groups but aside from this there will need to be a support group as well in regards to the Phoenix's immediate family and I recommend that the family members in question come forward so that we can help them in to do so".

"Thank you gentlemen for this thorough evaluation feedback. When would the Phoenix be allowed to leave the hospital"?

Dr. Wagner looked at his colleague.

"With the correct treatment, care and regular follow-ups and support, we don't see the need to keep the Phoenix in the hospital longer than necessary. The Phoenix could be released as of tomorrow of course that being said, only if a family member is present and is willing to care for".

Fitz rose from his seat. "Well gentlemen, thank you once again. We will be in touch and keep you posted on the next steps concerning the Phoenix's release".

He shook their hands and left the room with Michael.

They walked down the hall without saying a word and stopped in front of the closed door of room 425. Fitz put his hand on the know and paused a moment. He turned to Michael.

"Michael, how is what they've said even possible"?

Michael shrugged. "Mr. President, I don't know. Sometimes things like these are beyond our understanding and sometimes it is better off that way".

Michael patted Fitz's back and walked away. His job was done, his duty to his country, for the time being, had been filled. There was nothing more he could do for the Phoenix or for his President.

Fitz closed his eyes for a brief moment then turned the knob and slowly opened the door, he was stopped by Alex one of his secret service agents.

"Sir, a quick sweep of the area"?

"No Alex, everything is OK".

"You're sure you don't want one of us in there with you Sir"?

Fitz turned and looked at the door that was slightly ajar. "No, that won't be necessary".

He continued to open the door. As he stepped foot inside, he could hear the heart monitor beeping at a paced rhythm, the room was not completely lit but was slightly dimmed, a background sound could be heard, he guessed it was the television. Finally, he walked passed the door and saw the hospital bed. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest that he could hear it in his ears, it almost covered the sound of the television, making it almost inaudible.

The nightmare was over. The Phoenix was home.

He walked closer to the bed so quietly that he still hadn't raised the Phoenix's attention.

"Hello Emma".


	3. You did it

Emma turned her head as she heard her name being said. She squinted her eyes a bit allowing for a more focused vision. Yet nothing had prepared her for the sight she was seeing.

Her throat felt suddenly dry. The beeping of the heart monitor increased as the man walked slowly towards her.

Her eyes were tearing up and her mouth and chin trembled as she tried really hard not to cry.

"Fitz"?

As he got closer and she fully recognized him, she let everything go. All the weight in the world seemed to vanish from her shoulders and she started to sob.

He picked up the pace and without even thinking about whether or not it was the right thing to do, he sat on the bed and his instincts kicked in as he took her into his arms. He held her as she cried and caressed her hair.

"Shhh.. It's OK. You're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you or anyone hurt you again. Shhh".

They staid locked in each other's arms for what seemed an eternity, yet it was only a few minutes. He finally pulled back and looked her straight in the eyes. Those beautiful brown almond shaped eyes, God how he had missed them. He missed how they he could see them light up when she smiled or laughed. They had changed, the light in them had faded and they just seemed tired and as if they had seen some of what life had the worse to offer. Her stare on him narrowed and he could tell she was not only checking him out but she was begging for answers, she wanted answers.

Her eyes wandered down and she saw the American Flag pin on his vest, she looked again at him inquisitively. Just as he was about to explain the door opened and Alex came in.

"Excuse me, Mr. President, we seem to have a situation here".

Fitz turned back to Emma. Her eyes were wide open. He started to stand but her hand grabbed his. She didn't want him to leave her side. He placed his hand on hers.

"I'll only be gone a few minutes, I promise you. I'll be right back".

She nodded in understanding as she removed her hand and watched him walk towards his secret service agent.

"What is the problem"?

"Jake Ballard", whispered Alex. "He's in the corridor Sir".

Damn it! That was really the last thing he needed. He sighed and walked out of the room with Alex on his trail. Alex closed the door and stood in front of it.

"Fitz, what a surprise. What are you doing here"?

Fitz smiled casually. "Visiting an army veteran. What about you? What are you doing here"?

"I had to get my annual checkup. I recognized you agents and was concerned something might have been wrong with you".

"I'm perfectly fine. No worries here, just doing an act of patriotism".

Jake smiled. "Ok then, glad to hear it. I've got to get back to the office. I'll see you around. I'll stop by to share a good scotch with you in the Oval"!

"Anytime".

Jake turned heels and left. Fitz waited until he was out of his sight before returning inside Emma's room. It was much brighter than he recalled. He guessed that Emma had increased it while he was out. She was sitting in the middle of the bed with her legs crossed. She wasn't crying anymore even though you could tell her eyes were red and a bit blotchy.

He walked over and sat across from her on the bed. She smiled as she reached her hand out to touch the American Flag pin.

"You did it… you became President of the United States"!

He smiled and then what he feared would be an awkward moment of starting up a conversation ended being the easiest thing he had done in a long time. He had always been able to talk to her about anything and everything.

"I'm 2 years in my second term. I want you to know that the day I became President; I began searching for you. It has taken more time than I had hoped but now you're here! I'm not going to let anything ever happen to you again"!

"I knew you would find me. I never gave up on you Fitz. You've always been there for me; you've never let me down. Thank you for bringing me home"!

"I want you to know that you have nothing to worry about. You're coming home with me tomorrow and settling in to the White House Residence. You are going to rest and regain strength, eat all you can possibly eat and I will be there to help you every step of the way".

He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you"!

She looked at him and placed an affectionate hand on his cheek. "I love you too Fitz".

"Look, I need to go, but I promise you I'll be back tomorrow morning to bring you home with me. Can you do without me for the night"?

"I'm fine Fitz. You have a nation to run. Go make history"!

He was heartbroken to leave her. They had just reunited and it seemed unfair that he had to walk away. He stood and walked to the door. He didn't want to leave her alone. Then the lightbulb went off in his head.

He opened the door. "Max"?

The youngest of the three secret service agents walked over to the President. "Yes, Sir"?

"I would need for you to stay here in my absence".

Max nodded. "Of course Mr. President".

Fitz returned into the room followed by Max.

"Emma, this is Max, he's one of my agents and he's going to stay here with you. If you need anything have him call me and I'll be on my way".

"Fitz, don't you think you are over doing this? He's going to stay awake here in this room while I sleep, when he could be sleeping in his own bed"?

Before Fitz could answer, Max did it for him.

"It will be an honor Ma'am to keep you company".

"All right then it's all settled", said Fitz. "I will see you first thing in the morning".

He leaned in towards Max. "Same security level as for me, no restrictions. You are to guard her with your life, is that understood"?

Max simply nodded.

In the motorcade on his way back to the White House, Fitz realized that he needed to tell Olivia. He had to be honest with her, especially if Emma was going to move in with them for a while. He just hoped that Olivia would understand that this was going to have an impact on their relationship.

Once he had arrived at the White House he made a quick stop by the Oval Office and retrieved the Operation Phoenix file from his desk drawer. He went to search for Olivia and found her in the Private Sitting Room adjacent to their bedroom. She was on the phone with what appeared to be Quinn.

He waited for her to finish and then sat down next to her in the sofa.

"Fitz what is going on? You seem anxious"?

"Something has come up and I need to share it with you because it is of high importance and it has an impact on me and therefore on you, on us".

"Fitz, you've got me worried and scared. What the hell are you talking about"?

He handed her the file. "All you need to know is in this file. Once you've read through it, I will answer any questions you may have".

She took the file and opened it not knowing what to expect. He watched as she read through and flipped the pages. Her face was frozen and she said nothing at first once she closed the file.

"You kept this from me all this time? Why"?

He shrugged. "Maybe because this was something I needed to fix. I didn't want for you to fix it, to feel obligated to fix it. This was my battle. I also didn't want you to be or feel responsible if things didn't turn out the way they did just recently".

She understood what he was saying and agreed with him but she internally wished that he had at least mentioned her existence to him. "Why does this have an impact on me, on us"?

"Because I'm bringing her home tomorrow and having her permanently settle in the Residence".

Even though Olivia showed nothing, she was indecisive. She had indeed not signed up for this. Karen and Teddy coming from time to time was already a change but now they would have someone else living with them permanently, someone to eventually come between them and their intimacy?


	4. The Residence

The following morning Fitz set out to the hospital for Emma's release. He signed the release papers and took the necessary information regarding the support group and all the follow-up details that were needed.

In the motorcade on the way over to the White House, Emma was relatively silent. She spent the majority of her time looking outside the window taking the scenery in. It had been a long time since she had seen other things besides 4 cement walls. Fitz watched her. It was as if she was rediscovering all of the beauty the world had to offer.

They pulled into the White House parking lot and exited the car. Emma was wearing a pair of jeans and a blouse that Fitz had brought her that morning.

They entered the residence without going through the entire White House. Fitz had been afraid that in doing so questions that he didn't want to answer would arise. He had also feared that it would have been too overwhelming for Emma.

It was 10 o'clock and he had asked his assistant to set up a meeting with Abby, Cyrus and the Chief of Security at 11:30. For the time being they were the only ones who needed to know. Cyrus would make sure that all the residence staff was aware. It gave him enough time to show her around the residence and help her settle in. He had also asked Olivia to be present, he needed her by his side.

They walked up the Grand stairs and landed on the second floor. Fitz led Emma down the Center Hall. She followed him. They stopped in front of a door.

"This is the East Bedroom. This is where Teddy and Karen stay when they come over".

Emma nodded. "Who is Teddy"?

Fitz wanted to kick himself for that. Of course how could she have known about Teddy? There were so many things that she didn't know about his life.

He smiled. "Don't worry I'll get to that later".

The continued and he stopped in front of another door. "This is the West Bedroom. I hope it will suit you".

He opened the door and they entered. The room was beautiful. The walls were yellow with a soft flower pattern. The queen sized bed stood against the wall on the left and had sheets that were in harmony with the walls. There was a small desk and a chair on the opposite wall near the window.

"It's perfect".

Fitz showed her a door on the right wall. "That is the North Hall. It's not so much a Hall as it is a walk-in closet. I had some clothes delivered. If you want to exchange them and get other ones, just say so and we can arrange that very easily".

Emma opened the door and entered the biggest walk-in closet she had ever seen. There were clothes hanging and neatly folded, shoes in all colors and styles, hats, jewelry and accessories.

She turned and smiled at him. "Just some clothes delivered huh"?

He laughed. "well yeah, there's plenty of space left"!

She closed the door and sat down on the bed. It was so much to take in. Being rescued, Fitz being President, moving into the White House….

"Over there is the door leading to the Cosmetology room. That's basic a cool term to say a beauty parlor. You can treat yourself to a haircut, a manicure, a facial... all those things you woman adore".

He motioned for her to follow him.

"There is also a swimming pool, a bowling alley, a movie theater, a tennis court and a running track. We also have a medical clinic and a dentist's office in the sub-basement. You can use them anytime you want".

He continued walking down the corridor and arrived at the door of his private quarters when he realized that Emma had not followed him. She was standing in the middle of the hallway. He walked back towards her.

"Emma are you OK? Is something wrong"?

"No..No I'm fine. I'm just not used to all this…well you know".

He grabbed a lock of hair that had fallen from her ponytail and placed it behind her ear. "Neither was I you know. But don't worry, you'll get used to it very quickly. I just want you to feel comfortable and not have to worry about anything else right now than to recuperate".

She nodded and they walked over to his quarters.

"This is my part of the residence. When I'm not needed in the West Wing, I'm usually here. I really like coming out and sitting on the Truman Balcony. Wait till you see the view, you're going to hang out there a lot! Across from your bedroom is a door giving into the Yellow Oval Room. You can access the Balcony through there".

They entered Fitz's private sitting room. Fitz gave a sigh of relief when he saw that Olivia was there waiting for them. She stood upon their entry and for a brief moment looked at the woman accompanying the man she loved. She was about 5'6", slim, with long brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. She was rather pale and even though she was 39 years old, you could have never told as she looked like she was in her early thirties. She stayed close to Fitz which was understandable, it would take time for her to trust others.

"Emma I would like you to meet Olivia Pope, my girlfriend".

Emma smiled at her and put her hand out politely. There was no real surprise. Fitz had told her at the hospital that morning that he and Mellie had divorced and that he was in a serious relationship with an amazing woman. He had not gone into more detail than that saying that they would have plenty of time for her to catch up on things. Plenty of time? How much time was it going to take to cover 10 years of missed events. She had so many questions about so many things and people she had known.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Pope".

Olivia shook her hand. "Please call me Olivia".

Emma nodded.

Fitz looked at his watch. He had 10 minutes before his meeting in the Oval Office. Just enough time to head over there.

"I hope you don't mind but I'm going to have to leave you two ladies to tend to some business. Will you two be OK"?

Olivia sat down in the sofa and Emma followed in her stride.

Olivia smiled at him. This soft side of him was a side she had very rarely seen and she liked it. "Don't you worry about us, we are going to have a chat, drink lemonade, order any kind of lunch that Emma will like and then we'll go check out her walk-in closet so that I can show her how terrible taste you have in clothing"!

Emma laughed naturally. Fitz nodded his head in disbelief… Olivia was amazing, in less than 5 minutes she had broken the ice and made Emma feel welcomed.

He leaned in to kiss Emma on the cheek and Olivia on the mouth before leaving them both.

When he arrived in the Oval Office every attendee was there waiting.

They all stood as he entered the room.

"Good morning everyone. Please have a seat".

He went over to his desk and grabbed a couple of files. Then sat down in the chair at the head of the sitting area.

"I have asked you all here to discuss a delicate matter and I need all your support on this".

They all looked at each other.

"Ten years ago a young army doctor was called upon a rescue mission near the base camp in Iraq, where a soldier had been seriously injured. The doctor was accompanied by 3 other soldiers. To this day we still don't know exactly what happened. It seems as though they were ambushed. Two of the three soldiers were killed on the spot, the third terribly wounded but there was no trace of the doctor. There was a lot of speculation as to what happened to the doctor. As no body was ever found, it was hard to determine whether or not the Lieutenant had been killed or taken hostage. After three years, the file was closed and the Lieutenant was considered MIA. When I took office I had the case reopened in order to get answers. At the end of last week, I was advised that the Lieutenant had been found in a prisoner's camp in Iraq near the Iranian border. An extraction was made and the Lieutenant was brought back to the United States".

Cyrus shot Fitz a dirty look. "Why were we not aware of this"?

"Because it is a very delicate matter and until proven otherwise, I'm still the one calling the shots around here and I don't need you to hold my hand at all times Cyrus"!

Abby looked at Fitz. Cyrus wasn't her enemy but she had just gotten a thrill from hearing Fitz putting him back in his place.

"Mr. President, I'm sorry to seem ignorant but I don't really understand what we have to do with this"?

Fitz handed each one a file.

Abby looked at it. "Operation Phoenix, Sir"?

"Yes that was the code name of the Operation to recuperate the Lieutenant".

All of them went through the file and looked at Fitz.

Cyrus shifted in his seat. "So where is the Phoenix now, Sir"?

"The Lieutenant has taken quarters in the West Bedroom of the Residence".

Fitz stood and headed for the window.

Cyrus put the file down on the table and stood in turn.

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think that hosting a war camp prisoner is safe. Especially since we don't know anything about this person".

Fitz stayed at the window but just turned his head in the group's direction.

"I'm perfectly safe Cyrus and I know all I need to know about the Lieutenant".

Cyrus grabbed the file and shook it. "Why because of what is in this file. Have you decided to play Daddy Warbucks and adopt a helpless army Lieutenant. This is unbelievable. I have seen you do stupid things in the past years but this has got to be the icing on the cake"!

Fitz was bubbling inside. His tone got one tad angrier as he turned to face the assembly.

"The reason I know is because that prisoner, the Phoenix, is Lieutenant Emma Grant. My younger sister"!


	5. You are not responsible

They all looked from each other to Fitz. It took a while for the information to sink in.

Cyrus sat back down in the sofa.

"Throughout all the years I've known you, through all your campaigns there was never any mention of a younger sister… why"?

Fitz walked back towards them.

"Emma's loss was hard on all of us. I didn't want to use Emma as a means to gain votes, to get elected President of the United States".

Abby looked at Fitz. All these years he had kept this a secret to preserve his sister, to not use her as a winning element.

"So no one ever knew"?

He nodded in agreement. "when people don't know what to look for, they usually don't go looking for it".

Cyrus looked at Abby. "Red, we need to prepare a press conference to announce this before there is any leak whatsoever"!

"No", said Fitz categorically.

"Sir, this is overwhelming and I understand you may be a bit in over your head here but you've asked us for our help and that is what we are here to do".

"Abby, as much as I appreciate it and understand that a statement and press conference need to be made, it's too soon. The minute this gets out there, Emma is going to be harassed. People are going to want to have answers to questions that I, personally am not prepared to answer and I don't want Emma to either right now. Her face is going to be on every news channel, on every newspaper and magazine. Emma has spent the last 10 years in a prisoner war camp being tortured, she needs time to adjust. I want to work with you and take the time to prepare the press conference so that when I feel the timing is right, we do it the right way".

"Of course Mr. President". Abby took a few quick notes down on what Fitz had said about Emma, it would be a solid base to start working from.

"Cyrus, I need you to speak with the Residence Staff and let them know about Emma. They have a confidentiality clause so I'm not worried about them knowing the truth".

Cyrus nodded. "Consider it done, Mr. President".

Fitz turned to his head of security. "Jim, I need you to organize secret service detail for Emma. For the time being I don't think Emma will be leaving the White House so one agent is sufficient and preferably a woman and I want it to be a discreet detail".

"Of course Mr. President, detail will be established and operational within the hour. What code name should we use for Lieutenant Grant"?

"You can use Phoenix".

Fitz returned to his desk. "Thank you all for your time and discretion on this matter. That will be all for the time being".

Cyrus, Jim and Abby stood and headed for the door.

"Abby, could you free up some time tomorrow afternoon so we can work on the press conference? And if you have any ideas or suggestions, I'd like to hear them".

"Of course Mr. President".

The day rolled by and unexpected things landed on his desk. By the time he eventually got away from the Oval, it was 6PM and he felt really bad. He had left both Olivia and Emma on their own and it wasn't the way he had planned it.

He walked into his private sitting room and found no one. He walked into the Yellow Oval room and found Olivia reading through her emails.

"I am so sorry Liv, you both must think I'm a terrible person".

Olivia stood and met him. She took him in his arms. "No of course not and your sister was more than comprehensive, I promise".

"Where is she"?

"Emma was tired and called it a night. I took her around the residence and showed her the Rose Garden. We had lunch and checked out her closet. We talked a lot about what happened to her".

He pushed Olivia away. "You what? Why would you do that? Why would you bring that up with her? she's still vulnerable"!

"Now wait a minute. I simply asked her how she was feeling Fitz. She talked about it on her own. Fitz she needs to talk about what happened, it's part of the recovery process".

"Oh yeah like you talked about what happened when you were kidnapped"?

Olivia didn't know what to say. He was right. She had never talked about what she had gone through. Not with him, not with anyone, not even Jake or Quinn or Huck.

"Fitz, all I'm saying is that she needed to talk. What? I should have told her not to? You need to talk to her Fitz, she needs to know that you are there for her and that you are going to help her through this. You are the only family she has left; she needs you".

"I'm doing the best I can"!

"How by settling her in here. Getting her a full wardrobe. That is not what she needs. You're going to have to do better than that"!

"I can't"!

"And why not"?

"Because I'm afraid"! He paused for a moment and realized his entire body was shaking. "I'm afraid I won't be able to cope with what she is going to tell me"!

Olivia looked at him. So that was the reason.

"The last time I saw Emma, she was a strong, brilliant, determined Army doctor. She wanted to change the world, she wanted to serve her country, she was happy and had her entire life ahead of her. Now all I see is a ghost, an empty shell. They broke her, they tortured her for years. The Emma sleeping in the West Bedroom is not the Emma I used to know, they killed that Emma! I am her older brother. I am supposed to protect her, I failed".

With all that being said, he realized that tears were rolling down his face.

Olivia took his face in her hands.

"You are not responsible for what happened to Emma. You did not fail her in any way, on the contrary you never gave up hope and brought her home. She may never become the Emma she was before all of this happened to her, but with our help and support we can help her become the closest thing there is to it. We can't fix her but we can help her start over…together"!

He nodded and took her back in his arms. He truly hoped that Olivia's gut instinct was right!


	6. You son of a bitch!

Emma got out of the water and grabbed her towel on the lounge chair. She waved at Pauline, her secret service agent, who had just taken over Kendra's shift.

She wrapped herself up in the towel and sat down in the chair. She took a sip of her ice tea and grabbed the book she was reading. She had found the library and had started reading all the classics. She had read Great Expectations and had started The Great Gatsby.

The door opened and she heard. "POTUS is at the swimming pool".

She closed her book and smiled as Fitz grabbed the chair next to hers and sat down.

"Good morning… so how many laps today"?

"Morning. 25 laps".

She knew it didn't seem like a lot but she was really out of shape. Thanks to Olivia she was getting back on track. Every morning she and Olivia would come and do laps. She knew that Olivia could do way more, but she never pushed or did more than Emma could do. That morning however, Olivia had been called in to P&A and Emma had gone alone. She knew that Fitz would have stopped by considering that Olivia wasn't around.

It had been three weeks and Emma had settled in nicely. She had met Cyrus and Abby and the entire residence staff was very nice to her. Her agents Pauline and Kendra were awesome. They were discreet but knowing they were there was reassuring and every now and then they chatted about different things.

"That's two more than yesterday if I'm not mistaken".

"Yep. I tried running yesterday afternoon but it's still too hard on my knees, but it's OK, I'll stick with swimming".

"Your ligaments are still healing. The doctor said….".

Emma placed her hand on his. "Fitz, I'm a doctor remember. I know it's still going to take some time. That's why I'm not pushing it".

He caressed her cheek. "I know. I just don't want you to push yourself too hard and then get discouraged".

"You know what is hard? Not having been able to say goodbye. To dad, to Jerry, to…"

She paused for a moment.

Flashback:

" _Take cover, we are being shot at"!_

" _We are being shot at, requesting back up ASAP"!_

" _Emma get out of here! Run"!_

" _I'm not leaving you"!_

" _I am your superior and I'm giving you an order. Now get out of here"!_

 _Shots are fired and all three soldiers are hit and fall to the ground._

 _Four men come up to them. She is frozen, unable to move as she sees the man she loves lifeless on the ground._

 _One of the men checks out the soldiers and all she hears is "Dead"._

 _They grab her and lift her up from the ground. They handcuff her hands together with a plastic bracelet and take her to a truck and cover her face. She feels a blow to the head and collapses in the back of the truck as everything goes black._

End of flashback.

"I know" said Fitz.

She seemed miles away at that particular instant, she was in a dark place and he needed to get her out of it.

"So what does the rest of your day look like"?

She snapped out of her trance. "Um… I was thinking of going to sit out on the balcony and read, order lunch and maybe finish my day by sitting out in the Rose Garden and watching the sun set. What about you"?

"Let me see, meetings, meetings, paperwork, meetings".

She laughed. "Sounds like fun".

He gave her a smirk. "I'll trade you".

She waved her hand at him and sent water in his face. "No thanks, your day sounds really boring, no offense".

"None taken".

He stood, placed the chair back to its original place and headed for the Oval Office.

Once she was dried and had finished the chapter she had started, Emma gathered her things and headed to her room to shower and change. She called the Kitchen and asked them if they could prepare her a tuna sandwich and bring it up at noon on the balcony.

Fitz looked up as the door opened. His assistant looked at him.

"Mr. President, I have Jake Ballard on the phone for you".

"Tell him I'm busy and will call him back".

"Yes Mr. President".

Emma ate her sandwich and then returned to her book. Another chapter finished, she put the book down and stood. She walked to the railing and looked out. Fitz had been right about the view, it was amazing but most of all it was quiet and peaceful. Aside from the swimming pool, it had become one of her favorite places in the Residence.

Fitz stepped out of his office and looked at his assistant.

"I'll be back in a half an hour".

She nodded.

"Is he in"?

Fitz's assistant looked up.

"I'm sorry Mr. Ballard, the President has stepped away from his desk".

Jake lifted his eyebrows. "And yet an hour ago he was too busy to take my call".

"would you like for me to leave him a message"?

"No that's all right, I stay in the area and wait for him. I'm here for business not pleasure"!

Jake walked away, he strolled down the corridors of the West Wing. He knew Fitz and when he wasn't in the Oval he was either in the Situation Room or in the Residence. Had it been the Situation Room, his assistant would have said something, so… he was most probably in the residence. He headed over to the Residence, he really needed to talk to Fitz.

He knocked on the door of the Private Sitting Room but heard nothing. He opened the door and entered the room. There was no sight of Fitz. He walked into the Yellow Oval Room and saw no one there either. As he was about to leave, he realized the door to the balcony was open.

He pushed the mosquito door and walked out on the balcony planning to see Fitz, but the only thing he saw was the silhouette of a woman turning her back at him. Realizing it wasn't Fitz or Olivia and fearing that he might have been heard, he apologized.

"I'm sorry, I was looking for the President, I didn't mean to intrude".

The woman didn't turn around. "That's ok, no harm done".

He turned and left the balcony. He paused for a moment inside the Yellow Oval Room and felt his curiosity take over. If it wasn't Olivia, who was this woman on Fitz's balcony? Was he cheating on Olivia?

He delicately walked over to the window and saw the woman just as she turned around…. He blinked a couple of times. The woman turned away again to look at the view. His heart stopped. He walked slowly towards the balcony again. He couldn't believe his eyes…

He stood frozen a foot away from her.

"Emma"?

Emma was lost in her thoughts and didn't pay much attention when she heard her named being called out.

"Uh huh".

Jake swallowed hard.

"Ems? Is that really you"?

Upon hearing the man call her Ems, she snapped out of it. The first thing that had gotten her attention was the Ems, then the voice.

It took time for her to process everything, to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Jake took a step, filling the gap between them.

She slowly turned and a look of disbelief on both their faces took over.

"…. Jake…."?

She took her hand of the railing not realizing that it was the only thing tying her to reality. She tried to take a step but felt dizzy and before she could take another step, she fainted.

Jake took one giant step and fell to his knees just in time to catch her before her head hit the floor.

Jake stood and carried Emma out of the balcony, out of the Yellow Oval Room and out in the corridor. He was met by Kendra.

"She fainted. She needs to see the doctor".

Kendra nodded. "Phoenix on route to the Medical Clinic", she said as she led the way for Jake.

They went to the sub-basement and he delicately placed Emma on the gurney.

Jake looked at the doctor and the nurse, then to Kendra.

"I'll be back".

Jake stormed up the stairs and down the corridors, not paying attention to whom he was pushing or shoving along the way. He reached the Oval Office and passed the assistant's desk.

"Mr. Ballard, you can't go in, he's…."

Her voice trailed off as he opened the door in a fury.

Fitz stood as he heard the door open abruptly. In a split second, he knew. He saw it in Jake's eyes.

Jake pulled his arm back. "You son of a bitch", he said as his fist hit Fitz in the face full blow!

Fitz staggered and fell to the ground.


	7. Buy your soul back

Just as Olivia and Cyrus reached Fitz's side, the secret service agents grabbed Jake.

"You son of a bitch! How could you"?

Fitz stood with Olivia's help and wiped the blood from his mouth and nose with the back of his hand.

Jake struggled against the agent's grips. He wanted to punch Fitz again.

"You knew and you didn't tell me! How long Fitz, how fucking long"?

"It's been almost a month".

Jake was enraged! He continued struggling to free himself from their hold.

"A month!? You have kept this from me and from her for a month"!? He lurched at Fitz but unsuccessfully.

Olivia looked at Jake.

"Jake what the hell has gotten into you"?

Jake looked at Olivia. "So he also has kept it from you huh? He hasn't told you the whole story about Emma".

Olivia looked from Jake to Fitz to Jake again.

"What about Emma"? She paused for a moment. "Wait you know Emma? How do you know Emma"?

Still being held by the secret service agents, Jake dropped to his knees and when he looked up again at Olivia tears were running down his face. The agents released their hold on him but stayed alert. With one of his hands he went inside his inner jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it and took something out. He held out what he had in his hand so that Olivia could take it.

Just as she took it and turned it around to look at it she heard him say: "I'm her husband"…. Olivia's hand was shaking as she looked at the picture Jake had given her. It was a picture of Jake and Emma on their wedding day!

Olivia looked at Fitz then at Jake. She was in utter disbelief. The man she had been with, the man she had stood in the sun with was married to the sister of the man she loved. It all somehow made sense, how close Fitz and Jake were and it was a bond that was way beyond having served their country together. They were family. That being the case, she like Jake, didn't understand why Fitz would have kept this a secret.

Jake looked at Fitz. The look in his eyes had changed from rage to hurt. "Why"?

Fitz walked over and served himself a scotch, it would help to disinfect the sores he had in his mouth from the punch.

"I was trying to protect her and…."

Jake cut him off. "Protect her from her own husband"?

"Let me finish"! He drank a swab of scotch and it burned like hell. "I was trying to protect her and you. We had no idea how this was going to turn out, how she would turn out, physically, emotionally and psychologically. I did what I thought was right".

Jake stood and walked over to the sofa and sat down taking his head in his hands. "You talk about her as if she was damaged goods. I'm her husband, no matter what the outcome would have been, I would have been there for her. That was our promise, through the good and the bad, in sickness and in health. I know those vows never meant much to you but they did to me, they did to us! Unlike you, I married out of love, not out of interest or opportunity"!

Olivia looked at the secret service agents and waved to them to leave the office. She could tell the tone had settled down and they would no longer be needed.

Fitz could say nothing. He knew deep down inside that Jake was right. He shot Jake a look and Jake caught it.

"You still blame me for what happened don't you"?

Fitz said nothing at first and sat down in the sofa across from Jake.

"You were supposed to protect her"!

"I did. I was there, remember"? He stood, turned around and lifted his shirt revealing in his back a bullet-sized scar. Olivia knew that scar well. He had told her it was from when he was in Iraq but she had never asked more. He turned around and sat back down. "The minute the first shots were fired, I told Emma to leave, but she wouldn't leave, I gave her a direct order that she refused to follow, your sister was one stubborn young woman and you know that. I woke up two weeks later in Landstuhl and I was told she was gone, that there was nothing more I could do. That they were sorry for my loss. I grieved my wife Fitz"!

"I grieved too"!

"Oh bullshit. You grieved her, like what, ten minutes. You went on with your life as if she had never existed. You went on to campaign for the Presidency, we were never to speak of Emma again. I bet no one in this room knew about Emma until you brought her home. You didn't grieve Fitz you carted her aside like damaged goods. And now you are simply guilty that you did and your trying to buy your soul back, on her account".

Olivia stepped in. "Are you two done"?

Both Fitz and Jake looked at her. "This is not going to help Emma. What happened to Emma is not any of your faults and debating about it and talking about the past is not going to solve anything".

She looked at Fitz. "You were wrong Fitz. Jake should have known about this from the start. Put yourself in his shoes, how would you have reacted if it had been me? How would you have felt if when I was kidnapped, no one had told you or kept you in the loop until…".

She looked at Fitz. "When were you going to tell them"? The minute she asked the question she regretted asking it. She was afraid of what he was going to say. "Tell you what, I don't even want to know".

The door opened and the assistant walked in. "Mr. President, I have Doctor Baker on the phone, he says Miss Grant is conscious". With that she closed the door.

Fitz stood up and towered over Jake. "what did you do to her"?

Jake in turn stood. "what did I do to her? Don't point the finger at me. You are responsible for this. Emma was in shock and fainted when she saw her husband, who was supposed to be dead and, whom her brother omitted to tell her, had survived"!

Jake walked over to the door with Fitz following in his tracks.

Fitz tried to get to the door before Jake. "where do you think you are going"?

"To be with my wife, where I belong".

"I'm coming with you"!

Jake stopped in front of the door, blocking it. "The hell you are! You are going to stay in this Oval Office and let me fix this"!

"I am the President of the United States! I don't take orders from you Ballard"!

Jake kept his position.

"Right now you are not the President and I am not Jake Ballard of the NSA, right now you are my brother-in-law who has majorly overstepped his boundaries. You said my job is to protect Emma, well that's what I'm doing. You owe us that much".

Olivia knew that Fitz wouldn't stand down. She slowly walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm. He turned to face her.

"Fitz…".

Fitz said nothing but turned his attention to Jake and nodded.

Jake left the Oval Office and headed for the Clinic.


	8. Thanksgiving

Jake walked towards the clinic. He was lost. What was he going to say? What was he going to do? What do you say to your wife whom disappeared and thought to be dead for the past ten years? Where did all of this leave the two of them? So many questions that needed answers and yet he was afraid of what those answers might be. He had loved Emma with all his heart and he had never been the same. Sure there had been other women since; Elise his 'B613 wife' but that was all it had ever been, work and then Olivia whom he knew he would never get. His true love and heart had always belonged to Emma, no matter how many years had passed by, he thought of her every day, he still loved her like the first day.

Flashback:

 _Fitz and Jake walked into the arrival hall of LAX airport._

" _Look Fitz, I do appreciate you trying to getting me hooked up but come on you and Mellie have to stop setting me up on blind dates… please"!_

 _Fitz laughed. "Why, what was wrong with the last one"?_

" _The first thing she asked me was what was my astrological sign and then right there on the table, she did a tarot reading of my future and how we were going to end up together married with five children"!_

 _Jake shook his head. "I mean come on, where do you and Mellie find these girls"?_

" _She's part of Mellie's book club or something"._

" _I just want to find a girl that's normal, with a great sense of humor and real values"._

 _Fitz stopped in front of the arrival screen monitor._

" _Remind me who we are picking up again"?_

 _Fitz looked at his watch. "My sister Emma. She's coming to spend Thanksgiving with us"._

 _Jake nodded. "Right, I remember you talking about her, she's the one that is at the Military Medical University"._

 _Fitz looked around. Her plane had landed and she would be arriving anytime soon. "Well she's the only sister I have so that would be her. She's in her last year at USUSH, Maryland"._

 _The two men waited a bit longer without speaking. People were flowing into the arrival hall._

" _Maybe if you tell me what she looks like, I can help you find her"?_

 _Still keeping his eyes at the travelers he described his sister. "She's 5'6", brunette with shoulder-length hair, beautiful brown eyes and an amazing smile. You'll know her when you see her, trust me"._

 _Jake laughed. "Was she adopted? 'Cause I know you and you're not really good looking"!_

 _Fitz nudged him in the ribs and they both started laughing._

" _Ah there she is". Fitz waved. "Emma over here"!_

 _Jake couldn't really see her as people were blocking his view but when he did he had to admit that Fitz had done right by her. She was exactly how he had described, but through the eyes of a brother… She was wearing a blue v-neck shirt, a pair of jeans and a pair of Converse. Her hair swayed with every step she took. Her smile was mesmerizing and those eyes.. he could have gotten lost in them. She was simply beautiful, no artifacts, no make-up, a natural beauty and he wasn't the only one to acknowledge it, most men seemed to follow her every move._

 _She arrived at their level and Fitz took her into his arms for a warm hug. He grabbed her bags._

" _Have you been waiting long"?_

" _No, about 10 minutes"._

 _Jake coughed discreetly._

" _Of course, I'm sorry, where are my manner? Emma this is Captain Jake Ballard. Jake this is 2_ _nd_ _Lieutenant Emma Grant on route to graduating and becoming Captain Emma Grant"!_

 _Emma laughed. "Your boasting Fitz"! She turned her attention to Jake. It was hard to tell but he seemed younger than Fitz. He was about 6'1" with brown hair and hazel colored eyes. He smiled at her as he held out his hand and she saw that sparkle in his eyes. The sparkle she very often found herself looking at when guys were interested. She in turn put her hand out and shook his._

" _It's a pleasure to meet you Jake, I've heard about you"._

" _Well the pleasure is all mine Emma. Don't believe a word he's said about me…their all lies"!_

 _They laughed and left the airport._

 _As they neared Fitz's house Emma leaned in between the two men who were sitting in the front cubicle. "So Jake are you staying with Fitz for Thanksgiving"?_

 _Jake slightly turned his head. "Yes, I hope you don't mind. I know you don't see much of each other, I hope I'm not intruding"._

 _Emma smiled. "I don't mind at all, any friend of Fitzs' is a friend of mine"._

 _When they arrived at the house, Mellie greeted them and she and Emma spoke for a while before Emma headed for one of the guest rooms to unpack and freshen up before dinner. Jake and Fitz headed out on the deck with beers while Mellie checked that everything was being tended to for their Thanksgiving dinner._

" _She seems nice"._

" _Who"?_

" _Your sister"._

 _Fitz smiled. "Yes she is, wait till you get to know her, you're going to love her! Everyone does"._

 _Eventually dinner rolled by and Emma made her way downstairs. She met up with Fitz at the bottom of the stairs and smiled. Then she heard his voice and her face closed up._

" _You invited dad"?_

" _Emma what was I supposed to do? It's Thanksgiving. Just go with the flow ok, please. I'm not thrilled about it either"._

 _They walked together into the sitting room adjacent to the dining room and found Jerry telling Jake and Mellie one of his boring politician stories._

 _Jake stood as she entered the room. She was stunning. She was wearing a beautiful black halter dress and a pair of black high heels._

 _Jerry in turn stood up. "Well if it isn't 2_ _nd_ _Lieutenant Emma Grant, granting her with her presence"._

 _She forced a fake smile and walked over to him. "Hello Dad. How are you"?_

" _Still alive, drinking, talking politics and screwing around"!_

 _Fitz laughed to ease the tension in the room. Luckily, one of the maids advised them that dinner was being served and they all headed to the dining room. Jerry took the lead and sat at the end of the table. Fitz sat down next to Mellie and Jake took the liberty of sitting next to Emma._

 _Most of the dinner was fine, they talked about politics and projects Fitz was working on, Mellie talked about the Woman's Club she was the head of and Jerry made jokes that weren't even close to funny, but everyone laughed anyway out of curtesy. When dessert rolled in, the tone suddenly changed when Jake asked Emma how she liked being in the Army and becoming a doctor._

" _A damn waste of time, effort and money if you ask me", said Jerry._

 _Emma put her dessert spoon down. "Why would that be, huh, dad"?_

" _The Military and medicine are no places for women. You should leave that to the men. The only thing you are needed for Missy is to cook, clean, tend to your children and most of all spread your legs when your man asks you and needs you to"!_

 _Fitz dropped his spoon. He was not only embarrassed by his father's comment, especially in front of Jake, but enraged at how their father treated her. He looked at Emma. She gave him a look that simply said 'it's OK, don't say anything'. Emma pushed her chair away from the table, folded her napkin and placed it on the table. She stood without a word and left the room._

 _Jake turned around and watched her leave._

" _Well Dad, you've outdone yourself"._

 _Jerry took a sip of Scotch and looked at Mellie. "She should be more like you Mellie"! With that Mellie in turn stood, insulted, and left the room._

" _Don't you ever speak to my wife like that again! You are in my house and I won't allow it"!_

" _Son, I got you into this house, so I will say and do as I see fit"!_

 _Fitz left the table to go find Mellie. Jerry stood to fill up his glass of Scotch and Jake took the opportunity to leave the room._

 _He went outside and saw Emma further down the garden sitting on the edge of the pool. He hesitated but finally walked over to her. She had taken off her heels and lifted up her dress and had let her legs dangle in the water. He bent over, took of his shoes and socks and rolled up his pants before sitting next to her._

 _She turned to look at him. "I'm sorry about that"._

" _You shouldn't be the one doing the apologizing"._

 _She nodded and remained silent._

 _He looked at her. The moon's reflection in the water lit up her face, God she was beautiful! "Are you OK"?_

" _I'm fine. I'm usually pretty good when it comes to filtering what he said, but that was just…."._

 _Jake took over. "Sexist, insulting, diminishing, outrageous, preposterous…. I can keep going if you want"._

 _Emma smiled. "No that's all right, I think we're pretty much aligned. Sometimes I think he's right, in a way"._

" _Oh don't you dare! You are a strong, independent, intelligent, beautiful woman. A man who doesn't see that as being amazing qualities is simply a fool and doesn't deserve you"! He paused a moment. "I can keep going on those too if you want; charming, determined, mesmerizing, sexy, beautiful…"._

 _She laughed. "you said that already"._

" _What"?_

" _Beautiful. You said it twice"._

 _He smiled. "I just wanted to make sure you were paying attention"._

" _I was", she said as she turned to look at him._

 _He leaned in closer to her. "I'm about to do something that I shouldn't, not because of what just happened, because I would have done it anyway, but because Fitz is going to kill me….". His voice trailed off as he put his hands on her face and pulled her towards him. His lips touched hers. They were soft and warm. She responded and allowed herself to be pulled in against him. Their lips parted and he finally got a taste of her as their tongues met. After a few minutes, she pulled away and stood._

" _Goodnight Jake"._

" _Goodnight Emma"._

 _He watched as she walked into the house. He wanted more, he wanted so much more._

End of flashback.

Jake arrived at the clinic and headed for the room where he had left Emma. The door was closed. He took a deep breath and opened it. She looked at him. It was as if she had been staring at the door forever, waiting for him. She smiled and a single tear rolled down her face as she held out her hand. He took it and then he took her into his arms.

"I thought you were dead", she whispered.

"I thought you were dead too! I have dreamt this moment for ten years, even if it seemed improbable".

"You kept me alive….".

He pulled back and looked at her face still holding her in his arms.

"Every time I wanted to give up, I could hear you telling me to be strong to fight harder to stay alive. You kept me alive. My love for you, kept me alive"!

She freed her left hand and caressed his face. She closed her eyes. She had done this so many times over the years in her dreams, in her mind, but this time it was real.

As she caressed his face he too closed his eyes, her touch was like none other than he had ever felt on him. In that moment, with her touch on him, he was home. He reopened his eyes and caught a glimpse of it as the light reflected on it. He took her hand and she opened her eyes. She panicked thinking she had done something wrong.

He merely took her hand and looked at it. There on her finger was her wedding ring and her diamond engagement ring. She was still wearing them after all this time. They were scratched and dented, showing the wear and tear they had gone through but they were still there. She was still his wife!

He let go of her hand and took his wallet out of his jacket. He unzipped a small compartment as she watched wondering what he was doing. He pulled out his wedding ring and placed it on his finger. He smiled at her as they locked hands.

Neither one of them had let go. Regardless of the vow, till death do us part, they had never let go!


	9. Don't let me go

That evening after getting hell and being told off by Olivia on how he had handled the situation, he left the Oval and headed for the Residence. Olivia had been called in by Marcus about one of their clients having been taken into custody and they needed her help.

On his way he stopped at Emma's room door and knocked. She didn't respond. He knew she was there as Pauline was standing guard by the door. He knocked again. Still no answer. He looked at Pauline who didn't even flinch.

"Is Emma alone in there"? he asked not entirely sure he really wanted to know the answer to that question.

"No, Sir. Captain Ballard is in there with her. They returned from the clinic about an hour ago and ordered dinner, Sir".

He simply nodded and said nothing as he continued down to his quarters. He served himself a Scotch and headed for the balcony.

He wondered when it had happened? When he started to despise Jake? Technically, Jake had never done anything to hurt Emma. On the contrary throughout the duration of their 'actual' marriage he had been nothing but an exemplary husband. He had been jealous. Jake was all the things Fitz wasn't. Jake and Emma were role-models when it came to a married couple. Unlike him and Mellie who were a team, Jake and Emma were one! So when did it happen? It all happened with Olivia. What Fitz had asked to be a simple surveillance had turned out to be something more. Jake had taken advantage of the situation to get close to Olivia, too close for Fitz's taste. Yet knowing all of that, Fitz couldn't decide if it had been the fact that he had slept with Olivia, the only woman he ever wanted, or if it was because he somehow cheated, betrayed his sister! In the end, it was probably a mix of both.

He shook, what he had been thinking about, out of his head. He needed to forget about all of it. Jake had been right, he and Emma were still husband and wife. She had never been declared dead and therefore he wasn't a widower. He had never filed for a divorce based on the grounds that she had been MIA for many years. Not knowing what that meant or would imply in the future, he simply needed to be there for Emma if and when things actually came tumbling down and Jake stepped out of the picture.

In Emma's room, she and Jake talked a lot about what she had been through. The isolation, the torture sessions she endured, how she tried to medically assist herself with the little she had. How she would sometime prefer sleeping days in a row because at least when she was sleeping, her dreams were an escape. She talked about her extraction and what the results of the medical exams had been at the hospital.

Jake tried not to show it as she spoke but he was aching inside. She had suffered a great deal. He knew what torture and suffering was and it broke his heart to know that she too had learned how terrible the human race could be. He wished he could tell her he knew, but there was no point in bringing B613 on the table, it would have been too much for her to cope with. Maybe someday he would.

She looked at him.

"Jake? What does this mean? For us, I mean"?

He looked at her. He too had been asking himself that question and he didn't know. It wasn't as if they could just pick up where they had left off. Or could they? Ten years was a long time and when it dealt with a marriage, it was a lifetime.

"Ems… I'd be lying if I told you I knew what it meant. I'm just as lost in this as you are". He paused for a moment as she nodded in understanding.

He continued. "The only I know for sure, is that I love you. That hasn't changed. I want you. I want us! But I would be selfish in pressuring you to want the same, to pick up where we left off. I want us to try! We can take it slow. I just don't want to give up on us, on what we had. I don't want to lose you"…. His voice trailed off.

She looked at him and searched his eyes, almost looking for a sign and she saw it amongst the look of hurt and uncertainty, that sparkle!

"You won't lose me… I didn't give up on us for the past ten years, I'm not about to now! You're right, we can't pick up where we left off, but we can't simply start over as if we didn't have those five years together. Those years where the most beautiful years of my life and I don't want to pretend that they never existed. I think we just need to keep moving together. Maybe it will all fit into place, maybe things will be different but we can jump those hurdles when we get to them. I, like you want to try because I know we are stronger than anything that has happened or that will happen. I love you"!

He took her hands in his and internally sighed with relief.

"Will you stay with me tonight"?

"Are you sure"?

She let go of his hands and placed herself on the bed, laying on her side.

"Yes… just hold me and don't let me go".

He took his shoes off and placed himself behind her on the bed. He lifted his arm and placed it around her, pulling her as close to him as possible. He closed his eyes and if he could make abstraction of everything that had happened, they were in their Maryland home 12 years ago, everything was fine, everything was perfect. As he dozed off breathing in sync with her, he thought to himself: 'everything will be fine, everything will be perfect again'!


	10. It was a start

Flashback:

 _The day after Thanksgiving, Mellie took Emma along on some of her charity projects and to her book club. Fitz and Jake had gotten up at the crack of dawn and had headed for the golf course. She and Jake hadn't seen each other, since the night before, let alone talk and she found herself impatient, longing to see him, which was new to her. All throughout her time in the Army, she had been approached by many men. Some she had dated once or twice but it had never led to anything and she certainly had never experience that feeling of yearning before._

 _As she and Mellie returned home, Mellie started to organize the dinner and as it was a relatively nice and warm day, in the high 60's, she opted for an All-American barbecue. Emma changed into her bathing suit and dived in the pool for her daily laps. She was a great swimmer and had helped her high school Varsity team win many trophies. While she was swimming, she was usually in her own world, in her bubble as she called it, it was an escape from everything. As she finished her 30_ _th_ _lap, she grabbed on to the edge to catch her breath. Jake was standing there._

 _He crouched down. "Have I told you how beautiful you are"?_

 _She smiled. "I think you mentioned it last night"._

" _You're right. I did. Twice"!_

 _Fitz came outside carrying two bottles of beer. "Jake, let's drink to my kicking your ass"!_

 _Emma hoisted herself out of the pool and walked over to where she had placed her towel as Jake stood and watched her. "You lost"?_

 _He smiled. "Technically, no. But I let him win. He's a sore loser"!_

 _Emma laughed. "Are you trying to score points with Fitz so that he'll spare your life when you tell him you kissed me"?_

" _No". He started to walk away. "I'm hoping he'll spare my life after I've done more than just kiss you"…._

 _Emma shivered. Not from the cold, but from the simple thought of what that meant. She watched Jake head over to Fitz and take his bottle of beer. Fitz took his shirt off and grabbed the basketball. Jake in turn took off his shirt and followed Fitz to the basketball court on the other side of the pool. She stared at Jake's muscular chest and abs. She was so caught up in it that she hadn't realized that Mellie had walked up to her and had spoken to her._

" _Emma? Did you hear me"?_

 _Emma snapped out of it and looked at Mellie who had that 'I know what you're looking at' kind of look._

 _Realizing that she hadn't heard her, Mellie repeated herself. "The chef's almost finished grilling the meat….just thought you might want to go dry off and change before dinner"._

" _Of course, sorry. I'll be down in ten"._

 _Emma walked off, stealing a glimpse every now and then, as she walked back to the house, at Jake._

 _After having dried off and changed, Emma left her room and literally bumped into Jake in the hallway. As they collided into each other, in order not to lose his balance, he put his arms around her. He was hot and sweaty and she could feel his pecs against her. She tried not to show she was flustered._

" _I'm sorry"._

 _He looked at her and smiled. He tightened his hold on her and pulled her in closer, on purpose. "Don't be. I'm glad you bumped into me"._

 _Her heart was racing. She couldn't speak. Within seconds his mouth was on hers. This time there was no foreplay. Their lips parted immediately, welcoming each other's tongues. He backed her up against the wall and kept coming for more. His hands slowly but decisively discovered her body. He stopped at her leg and grabbed it, hoisting it up on his hip as he pressed and burrowed into her. She moaned and pulled him closer by digging her hands in his hair, as she felt how bad he wanted her._

 _They heard footsteps downstairs in the main hall as Fitz called out for them. "Emma! Jake! Dinner's ready"!_

 _They took their time to pull apart both out of breath. He smiled and she smiled back. "You should bump into me more often", he said as he walked away towards his room and disappeared. She headed back to her room, she needed a new t-shirt…_

 _Dinner was tricky as both Jake and Emma tried really hard not to show anything. After dinner they all went and sat down outside on the deck. Fitz and Jake had Scotch and talked about sports and cars while Mellie and Emma talked about her upcoming Christmas break and how she hoped that Emma would come and spend time again with them._

 _Mellie stood and went to sit next to Fitz and he placed his arm around her as she leaned in to him. Emma smiled. Emma finally stood. It was coming up to midnight and she was leaving the following morning._

" _I'm going to call it a night. I've got an early flight tomorrow"._

 _Fitz nodded. "I wish I could take you but I've got an important session tomorrow first thing in the morning. I have a car that will pick you up at 6"._

" _Thanks". She walked over to Mellie and Fitz and hugged them. She then walked over to Jake and put her hand out. "It was nice to meet you Jake"._

 _He shook her hand. "It was nice to meet you too Emma. You take care now"._

 _Emma nodded and headed inside the house._

 _Jake watched her. He gave himself ten seconds and then stood. "Well, you wore me out buddy. I'm going down for the count. Catch you tomorrow"!_

 _Fitz laughed. "You're out of shape my friend"!_

 _Jake walked in the house slowly and once he was out of their sight hurried up the pace. He climbed the stairs two by two and stopped at Emma's door. Every inch of his body wanted her. He tapped gently on her door waiting for an answer that never came._

" _You wouldn't happen to be looking for me now would you"? He turned around and saw Emma standing in the doorframe of his room._

 _He smiled as he walked towards her. He took her into his arms and kissed her as he opened the door, without stopping they entered the room and closed the door. He lifted her top over her head and his mouth trailed down to her breasts. Her breathing picked up pace. She grabbed the edge of his shirt and pulled it off. His hands trailed up and down her body just as hers did on his, with one expert hand he unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor. He pulled her into her. The touch of their skin meeting sent waves of pleasure through their bodies and they kissed passionately. It was hot, arousing. She had never felt this with any other man before. He unbuttoned her jeans and tugged at them and removed her underwear. He picked her up and led her to his bed. He stripped his jeans and boxer shorts and placed himself on top of her. Throughout the entire night, their mouths, their hands discovered every inch of their bodies. They moaned as they brought each other pleasure and when their lovemaking reached its climax they came together._

 _Eventually, they fell asleep in each other's arms, her head resting on his chest. He woke up to the sounds coming from the edge of the bed._

" _I didn't mean to wake you", said Emma as she put her jeans on._

" _You were going to leave without saying goodbye"? He sat up and grabbed her pulling her in._

" _I didn't want to make this awkward for you"._

" _Awkward"?_

" _I mean I'm going back to Maryland and…. Look, it's OK. I'm a grown woman, I know how these things work. You'll have some other woman in your bed by tomorrow night. It was nice meeting you Jake. Take care"._

 _She pulled away and grabbed her shoes on her way to the door. She opened it slightly and then it closed. She looked up. Jake had placed his hand on the door, forcing it to shut. He was behind her._

" _I don't know what kind of men you are used to or how many men have taken advantage of you, but I'm not one of them! Emma, this is just the beginning"!_

 _She turned around. "So this isn't goodbye then"?_

 _He shook his head no._

" _Jake, you're in California, I'm on the other side. How is this ever going to work"?_

" _Weekends, holidays. Here, there, half-way. If it's both what we want, we will make it work. I know I want to"!_

 _They kissed one last time and she left the room. Three hours later, she was on the plane to Bethesda, wondering where that road would lead them._

Flashback ends.

Emma woke up, to a familiar feeling, a familiar warmth. She opened her eyes. She had her head on Jake's chest and he had his arm around her. She looked up at him. He was awake and watching her. He smiled and she smiled back.

"You were watching me sleep"….

"Just like I always did", he said as he lifted his head and kissed her forehead. He put his head back against the pillow and caressed her arm. She lifted her head and pushed up on her legs and kissed him on the mouth. It was soft, it was warm, it was familiar….It was a start!


	11. The Tsunami is on its way!

Emma headed for the family dining room for breakfast. Jake had bailed on breakfast as he needed to attend an urgent NSA meeting. She walked in, grabbed a plate and took what she wanted from the breakfast buffet before sitting down at the table. She was the only one in the room, but it was still early. Fitz arrived as she was finishing her plate.

"Good morning", he said as he sat down across from her.

"Morning Fitz".

He looked at her. "OK, say it".

"Say what"?

"That I'm a jerk"!

"I would have preferred the term asshole but close enough".

Fitz stared down on the table. It was hard but she was right. He had been a total asshole on this but he had done it to protect her.

She sighed. "I've been turning this around in my head for hours and even if I get the general gist of what you did, I still can't understand why. I was about to bring him up at the swimming pool and you cut me off because you knew you wouldn't be able to look me straight in the eye and lie to me. I thought he was dead; with one sentence you could have put me out of my misery. So why"?

Fitz looked up at her. "Jake's changed".

"We've all changed Fitz. You, Mellie, Jake, me… everything has changed. You and Jake were my pillars of strength; you both were the one constant thing in my life. For heaven's sake Fitz we're a family! We had a right to know"!

"He's not the Jake you used to know Emma".

"So what? What happened to me, must have changed him and I get that. But it also changed you".

He gave her a look of defiance.

"Oh don't give me that look. I've known you all my life and this is not how I remembered you. You can parade all you want down the corridors of the White House with that frozen smile on your face but you can't fool me. You are constantly pushing people away, you don't let people get close to you, get to know the real you. You are afraid of being abandoned, of losing them; just like you lost me. You're afraid of getting hurt. Well you know what, that's when you know you're alive. When you feel the pain and the hurt inside, you are alive. Without that, you're just numb inside"!

Olivia was listening and was amazed at how Emma had managed to pin point the problem so well. Ever since Emma's return, it had also been pretty clear to Olivia that it was one of the reasons for the rollercoaster ride relationship. It was also one of the reasons she had told him that they wouldn't get married… she had been afraid that he would put an end to their relationship before they reached the altar. Maybe Emma would fix him, she hoped Emma could, because Olivia had quit trying.

Emma stood. "Where are you going"? asked Fitz.

She looked at him with a big smile on her face. "I'm going to live Fitz. I'm done feeling numb inside. I want to laugh, I want to cry, I want it to hurt inside, I want to be scared, I want to dream. Time and life are two precious things Fitz that you can never get back. I've lost ten years of my life… I'm not about to lose one more minute wondering what should have been, what could be, what will happen and what won't. I'm going to live and so should you"!

Emma left the room and saw Olivia. The two women didn't speak but Olivia gave her thankful nod. If any had come at that moment in time, they would have believed the two women to have been conspiring.

Emma walked away and Olivia went into the dining room. Fitz's face was resting on one of his hands. He seemed to be in deep meditation.

He looked at Olivia. "You heard that huh"?

Olivia nodded but staid mute.

"Well, it's tough being taught the facts of life by your kid sister"!

"She may be your kid sister, but she is a strong, smart and wise woman. And you know what they say, usually it's the truth that hurts the most".

She walked over to him and he took her into his arms. "She's right. Everything she said is right. I didn't grieve like Jake, I went on and it changed me… it was my way of grieving. I'm sorry Olivia. You didn't deserve to see that side of me".

She sat on his lap. "You don't need to grieve anymore…".

"Liv, can you fix me"?

Olivia kissed him. "I think Emma just did".

Cyrus and Abby barged into the Oval Office. "Mr. President we have a situation".

Abby grabbed her tablet and pushed play.

"A woman has been seen leaving the White House Residence today and through the staff exit but the private exit. Needless to say that questions are fusing right now as to who this mystery person is. President Grant has a history of affairs, so one can only ask the following question: Has Olivia Pope become the cheated spouse? We'll definitely try to get to the bottom of this and keep you posted"!

Fitz smiled. Cyrus on the contrary wasn't. "What has possessed Emma to pull this kind of stunt"?

Fitz leaned back in his chair. "She's living"!

Abby looked at him confused. "I'm sorry Sir, but what does that mean exactly"?

Fitz didn't have a chance to respond as Cyrus added on a new layer.

"We didn't agree to this. We didn't agree to escapades"!

"There was nothing to agree to Cyrus! This isn't a contract, there were no rules to follow. She's been here for a month and has never left the grounds. She's not a prisoner and I as hell won't treat her like one. She is not the President or the First Lady, she can do whatever she wants, go wherever she wants without a care in the world, she is free"!

Abby smiled. She hadn't expected Fitz to react like that but she was glad he did.

"Abby, what do you suggest"?

"Sir, I think it's time to come out in the open. Not doing so will only allow more speculations and these rumors are not good for you. We need to go to the Press. I'd be more than welcome to do so".

"I appreciate it but this is not just about the United States of America and the Presidency, this is also about family, my family, so I will make the announcement to the press".

"Naturally, Sir".

Fitz grabbed his phone and motioned to Abby and Cyrus to wait. "Get me Ballard on a secured line".

Jake picked his phone up.

"Ballard".

"Jake it's Fitz… Don't hang up, please".

"What do you want"?

"Look I'm sorry, you were right, you both were and I will make it up to you both, even if it means apologizing for the rest of my life".

"Fine".

"Jake we need to go public".

"What now? Are you sure it's not too soon"?

"Well, I think it's what Emma wants"?

"How do you know that"?

"Because of what she said to me this morning. And also because someone spotted her leaving from the Residence and they think she's my mistress".

"OK.. I could see that being a problem. But why are you calling me"?

"Because when I go public, I need to know what I can say and what questions I needn't answer".

"You mean about Emma and I being married"?

"Yes. I don't know where you two stand, so I need to know".

"Fitz, I married your sister 14 years ago, she's my wife and I love her and that hasn't changed"!

"Ok then. I'll organize my press conference. Bye Jake".

Fitz hung up and looked at Abby, he could have cared less about Cyrus, this wasn't his field of expertise anyway.

"OK Abby, set up a press conference in 2 hours. It will give us enough time to rework some things in what we had initially prepared".

Abby nodded and hurriedly left the room with Cyrus trailing along behind her with his hands in his pockets like a punished child.

A half an hour before the press conference Fitz headed out to the balcony and was surprised to see Emma there.

"So…where did you go"?

"I went to see my godson".

"You went to Jerry's grave? I could have gone with you".

"Mellie told me where he was and I needed some time alone with him. To properly say goodbye. But we can go together next time".

Fitz nodded.

"I'm giving a press conference in a half an hour".

"I know. Jake told me".

Fitz's eyes narrowed.

"Fitz…. He's my husband, he wanted me to hear in his own words what he agreed for you to say".

"Are you OK with that"?

"Yes".

She stood from the canopy and met Fitz by the railing.

"There's one more thing Fitz". She paused for a moment. "I'm leaving the Residence".

"What? Why? When"?

She sighed. "Fitz, this is your home, not mine. Sure it's great and anyone would love to live here but it's not my home. Jake and I need time together; we need to learn to live together again. I'm leaving tonight".

"Are you sure it's not too soon to move back in with Jake"?

"I don't know maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Only time will tell but I know that being here is not going to make things work. I love you and I will be thankful the rest of my life for what you did and moving in with Jake doesn't mean I'm abandoning you".

He took her in his arms. "On one condition".

"What"?

"Brunch here every Sunday as a family"!

"Deal! And since I know you used to leave the White House to visit Olivia in her apartment, I do hope that you will grant us with the same privileges".

The crowd of reporters were buzzing and camera flashes were incessant as Fitz made his way to the podium. Olivia, Cyrus and Abby looked on from the sidelines.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to thank you for coming. I am addressing the Nation in order to clear some things up. There have been rumors and speculations ever since a woman was seen leaving the Residence this morning. People believe that she is my mistress and I've come to set the record straight. You couldn't be further away from the truth. The woman in question is Captain Emma Grant, my sister".

Chaos filled the room as the information sank in. Fitz raised his hand to ask for silence.

"My sister was an Army doctor and disappeared while on tour in Iraq ten years ago. A month ago, we received intel that she was alive and being held captive in a prisoner's war camp in an Iraqi city on the border with Iran. With the help of our amazing Navy Seals team, we were able to bring her home. She has been staying here, in the Residence since, in order to recuperate and try to resume as normal a life as can be, considering what she has been through the past ten years. Therefore, I do ask of you all to respect what she has been through, what we have been through as a family. My sister, in due time will be available for interviews and we will let you know when that will be. Again, thank you for your time. That will be all".

He took a sip of water. "Are there any questions"?

All the hands went up at once.

"Mitchel".

"Mr. President, first of all thank you for sharing this difficult moment of your family life with us. Secondly, what is the Captain's health condition"?

"I can't go into detail on that Michel, but I can tell you this, it's been a remarkable recovery".

"Patricia".

"Mr. President, this may be a somewhat stupid question but how old is your sister".

"She's 39".

"So that would mean she was 29 when she disappeared".

"That's correct Bryan, you still now how to count".

The assembly laughed.

"Ok just a few more questions. Uhmm… Connie".

"Considering the age she was, was Captain Grant married at the time of her abduction"?

He didn't even flinch.

"Yes, she was and is still married as we speak".

More chaos followed and more hands raised themselves.

"Tim"?

"Can we know who she is married to Sir"?

"She is married to the Director of the NSA, Jake Ballard! That will be all. Thank you".

Fitz stepped down from the podium and left the room as he heard the reporters screaming out for him to provide more information.

The tsunami was on its way… he hoped that Emma and Jake were strong enough to stay afloat!


	12. I need help

Emma was sitting down at the kitchen counter with the newspaper opened in front of her.

Jake opened the room of their bedroom and walked over to her. He kissed her and grabbed a cup of coffee. As he took a sip, he stood behind her and looked over her shoulder to look at the newspaper.

It had been two months since Fitz's press conference and their moving in together. The hype around their story had come down a notch. They were no longer in the headlines but people still talked about it.

"I can't believe this"! She said angrily.

"What"?

"This stupid article is implying that Fitz used his Presidency to serve his best interest and tend to family matters by rescuing me. They also say that Fitz hired you to be Director of the NSA because you are his brother-in-law"!

Jake put his coffee cup down on the counter and put his arms around her. "Sweetheart, you can't let that get to you. You and I both know that none of what they say is true. That's all that matters".

"Yeah well it's wrong"!

"I know. Tell you what, why don't you just stop reading the newspapers, OK? It's getting you really upset and it's not good for you".

He closed the newspaper and pivoted her stool so she could face him. "They can say what they want, I don't care. I have you and that is all I need". He bent his head down and kissed her again gently.

It had been two months and even though they were slowly getting readapted to each other, he still was letting her take her time when it came to their intimacy. He was a very patient man and he didn't want to rush her.

"So what does your day look like"? he asked.

She smiled. "I'm having lunch with Olivia and then I've got my therapy session with Dr. Finley. After that I think I'll come home and start preparing dinner. I was thinking of making roasted chicken, baked potatoes and a salad. What do you think"?

"Mmm sounds great. I just might bump into you at the White House, I've got a meeting with Fitz about a National Security issue that needs our attention".

She looked far away as she replied, "I remember the first time you bumped into me".

She stood and took him in her arms. "I like when you bump into me".

"So do I. We should do it more often".

They kissed one last time, then Jake grabbed his jacket and left the apartment. Emma took the newspaper in her hand. She paused for a moment debating on whether or not to open it again then headed for the laundry room and dropped it in the recycling box.

Jake walked into Fitz's office.

"Good morning Fitz".

"Ah Jake, good morning. How's it going"?

Jake sat down in the sofa. "Do you mean our issue or Emma"?

Fitz grabbed the file from his desk and joined Jake in the sitting area. "Both. But tell me how Emma is first, we'll talk business after".

Jake smiled. "She's doing great. She's sleeping better, continues her physical therapy to regain strength and is well… less distant".

"That's great news. She's a fighter that's for sure".

"Yes she is. However, I have to say that she wasn't in the best of spirits this morning. There was one of those articles again in the Times".

Fitz frowned. "I know. Olivia showed me the article. I'm sorry Jake, I wish it would all end and stop getting Emma upset. It's definitely not good for her emotional recovery".

"Exactly, that's why I told her it was of no importance and to stop reading the newspapers".

Fitz raised an eyebrow. "What did she say"?

"Well, you know how Emma can be stubborn, right"?

Fitz nodded.

"Well for once, she didn't fight me on this one. It's like she's still the same but also changed at the same time. Most of the reactions I knew her usually to have, seem to have changed and in a positive way".

"What she has gone through will usually make people think differently about life. They stop taking it for granted".

Jake said nothing but simply nodded in agreement.

Emma walked out on the balcony. Olivia was sitting in one of the sofas going through some paperwork.

"I hope I'm not too early".

Olivia looked up and smiled. "Of course not. You're right on time and on top of that it will give me an excuse to stop working for a while. Let's go inside and eat. I had the chef prepare us a nice Caesar Salad"!

Olivia stood and both women went to eat.

"So," said Olivia. "How are things with Jake"?

"We're doing good. He's very present and at the same time, he gives me space when I need it. Last week Dr. Finley said that was because I spent so much time alone, that I still need to be able to get those alone moments. He hasn't changed… aside from sometimes how he looks at me".

"What do you mean"?

"Well sometimes, I see this look on his face. I don't know if it's sadness, pity or guilt".

"I highly doubt that he is pitying you and guilt I don't really see why. Maybe it is sadness. The fact of having you back into his life, must remind him of all the things you both missed out on together".

"I guess your right". She took a piece of chicken. "Olivia, can I ask you a personal question? I mean woman to woman"?

Olivia put down her cutlery and smiled at Emma. They had gotten very close over the months and if there was anything that Olivia could do to help Emma, she was more than willing to.

"Of course".

"It's just that I don't really want to talk about this with Dr. Finley, it's kind of private".

Olivia nodded.

"It's going to sound stupid, especially at my age and the fact that I'm married and all, but I need help in the sex department".

"Oh…. I see why you don't want to talk about it with Dr. Finley. What's the problem"?

Emma bit her lower lip. "Well, it's been two months and although I feel I'm ready, I just don't seem to be able to jump back on the wagon yet".

"What do you think is stopping you? Any ideas"?

"I'm afraid. I'm scared shitless. With Jake it was always amazing. Sorry for the details. And I guess after all this time, it's almost like a first time again, even if it's not. What if it's not like I remember it to be"?

Olivia put her hand out and placed it on top of Emma's, almost like a sister would.

"Emma, you love Jake and Jake loves you. I'm sure Jake feels the same way. But you know when usually don't talk about these things. Unlike us girls". She winked.

"Look, I can't promise you it will be like it was before. Every couple's sexual relationship changes regularly over the years. But that being said, you won't know until you've tried. You might end up being surprised"!

"So you're saying I should take the bull by the horns".

Olivia laughed. "Not really. What I'm saying is that you should take it slow and do whatever makes you comfortable, but most of all you need to talk about it with Jake".

Emma smiled. "I'm glad I have you in my life. Fitz is very lucky to have you"!

With that the women finished eating their lunch and then Emma left, leaving Liv to return to her professional obligations. Emma left the residence and headed for the West Wing. She was kind of hoping to catch a few minutes with Jake. As she went down the hall, most of the people greeted her. A tall blond stopped her.

"You must be Emma". She put her hand out. "I'm Elizabeth North, the Vice President's Chief of Staff, I don't think we've had the opportunity to meet".

Emma shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. North".

"Oh no. Please call me Liz. You are here to see the President"?

"No, actually I was having lunch with Olivia".

"Of course. Well, if you ever need anything, when Olivia, the President or Cyrus aren't around, don't hesitate to let me know".

"Well thank you. I'll keep that in mind".

"Great! Well it was nice meeting you again. I'm sure we'll have the opportunity to see each other again and get to know each other a bit better. You have a nice day now".

With that Elizabeth headed down the hall in the opposite direction.

"Was that Elizabeth North, whom you were just talking to".

She turned around and smiled. Jake was standing right behind her.

"Yes, it was".

He raised one of his eyebrows concerned. Elizabeth North wasn't really his favorite person in the world. "What did she want"?

"Nothing really. She was just introducing herself. I could be wrong but she was almost too nice you know? Not someone you could really trust. But hey, what do I know right"?

He smiled internally. If there had also been one thing he loved about Emma, was her amazing capacity to read people. He didn't want to set off alarm signals, but she was right. Elizabeth was definitely someone who couldn't be trusted.

"So how was lunch with Olivia"? he said as he put his arm around her and they walked together towards the exit.

"Great. How was your meeting with Fitz"?

"Very productive".

They walked outside to where Jake's car was waiting for him. "You want me to drop you off at the hospital on my way back to the office"?

"No. It's a beautiful day and not too far from here. I think I'll walk".

"You're sure"?

She nodded.

Jake leaned in and kissed her. "Ok then, just make sure you tell Dr. Finley to be nice to you"!

Emma laughed. "He's not supposed to be nice to me"!

Jake got in the car and drove off. Emma started walking and headed for the hospital.

When she got home at 5, she was exhausted. It usually was the case after one of her sessions with Dr. Finley. They had spoken again about what had happened to her. He brought the subject back on the table regularly. It was part of the process to help her cope with it and with her emotions. He had been thrilled of the day's result as Emma had more than better controlled her emotions.

She put the chicken in the oven and cleaned the potatoes and then added them inside the oven as well. She prepared the salad and put it in the fridge. She tidied up the house a bit and put a load of laundry in the washing machine.

When Jake walked through the door at 6:30, the table had been set and the food was simply waiting to be taken out of the oven and fridge and served. Jake helped her bring everything to the table and they sat down to eat. He made it a point never to discuss her sessions with Dr. Finley. If she wanted to it was fine but he knew never to be the one to ask the question.

When dinner was finished, they put everything away and sat down a bit in the sofa in front of the TV. Jake was very careful in selecting the channels as the last thing he wanted to do was to fall on the news. Shortly after Emma stood.

"I'm going to take a shower".

"Ok. I've got to make a phone call so take your time". Jake tried not to bring too much of his work home. He wanted to give her a 100% of his attention when they were at home, but sometimes, he had no other choice. But when he couldn't he would do it when she was busy doing something else. Emma had figured out his little scheme and even if she felt it wasn't necessary, she appreciated the gesture.

Once his phone call finished her headed for their bedroom. He took off his all his clothes aside from his boxer shorts. Emma walked out of the bathroom wearing her black satin robe. She looked at Jake and then walked over to him. She placed her hands on his chest and starting caressing it. Jake remained motionless. She looked up at him.

"I'm scared".

He caressed her hair. "I know you are. When you will be ready, so will I".

She dropped her hands from his chest. He thought that she would have walked away and gone into bed but what she ended up doing surprised him. Still with her eyes locked on his, she undid the sash of her robe and let it slide off her body. He broke the stare and looked at her body. He hadn't seen her naked since her return and even through there were some scars, she was still as beautiful to him as she had always been. To him, the scars weren't there. She took his hands and placed them on her hips.

"Emma, are you sure"?

She placed her finger on his lips to silence him. "Shhh. Just make love to me Jake".

He kissed her and just like on their first night he lifted her and placed her on their bed. Unlike their first time, where it had been hard, fast, passionate, this time it had been soft, slow… they were re-discovering each other and with every minute that passed by, Emma's fears vanished as she realized that nothing, absolutely nothing had changed, not for her and not for him!


	13. How do you do it?

Labor Day weekend arrived and everything was in full bloom at the White House. Emma and Jake spent the most of the weekend with Olivia and Fitz among some of their other guests. Emma had gotten to spend time with Teddy and with Karen, before she returned to boarding school.

Emma was really enjoying herself chatting with Cyrus, Abby as well as with Susan Ross, who she had never really spoken to. Jake on his end was talking with Fitz and Olivia and mingling. She looked at him and he must have felt her stare on him because he looked in her direction and gave her one of his drop-dead smiles that she loved.

Susan looked at her. "I'm going to go over to the buffet and grab one of those delicious pastries the chef has prepared. Would you like one"?

Emma placed her hand amicably on Susan's shoulder. "No thank you Susan, I'm fine but thank you for asking". Susan walked away leaving Emma alone.

She was about to walk over to meet the others when she felt a presence next to her.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it"? asked Elizabeth.

"Yes it is". Simply replied Emma.

Elizabeth looked in the direction that Emma was looking. Jake, Fitz and Olivia were laughing.

"I don't know how you do it"? said Elizabeth shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand. How I do what"?

"Trust them like you do… I mean, I know he's your husband and you get along well with Olivia, she's technically your sister-in-law, but if it were me, knowing the two of them repeatedly slept together and even escaped for months together on a deserted island, I'd be hanging on to him like Velcro! You must really love him".

Emma's eyes grew bigger and she turned to look at Elizabeth, then looked back towards Jake, Olivia and Fitz. She then looked again at Elizabeth and feeling a terrible ache inside, she placed one of her hands on her chest.

"Oh my God! You didn't know. I'm so sorry. I thought you knew…."…

Jake turned his attention to where he had seen Emma last and saw her talking to Elizabeth, but he could tell that something was wrong. Emma looked at Olivia then at him and hurriedly walked away from the garden. He left the group without saying a word and walked after Emma slowly trying not to draw attention the what was happening. When he turned the corner, she was nowhere to be seen. He picked up the pace and entered the Residence in the hopes of finding her but she wasn't there.

He returned outside and grabbed Elizabeth by her elbow.

"Where's Emma? What did you do to her"?

"I uh… nothing".

"No, don't give me that crap. She was fine until she talked with you and now she's gone and I can't find her. What did you do"?!

Fitz and Olivia drawn but Jake's raised tone of voice and volume walked over. Jake was still holding Elizabeth's elbow.

"Jake what's going on? You're making a scene. Would you mind keeping your voice down"?

"My voice down? Hell no! Something is off here and I need to know what she said to Emma". He looked at Elizabeth again. "Well"!?

"I thought she knew".

"Knew what"? asked Fitz, now every interested as well.

Elizabeth swallowed hard. "I told her I didn't know how she did it…", she looked at Jake, "letting you and Olivia be so close, considering your past relationship".

Olivia put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to muffle her cry.

"I'm sorry, I really thought she knew".

Jake let go of her elbow and she walked away, as far away as she could.

Fitz passed his hand in his hair. "Where's Emma"?

"I don't know. I saw her walk away. I can't find her anywhere on the grounds or inside the Residence. She didn't look good Fitz".

Olivia looked at both men. "I don't blame her. We've betrayed her".

Jake should his head 'no' as the three of them walked back towards the Residence. "I didn't know she was alive Olivia".

"I'm not talking about that part of it, I'm talking about now. We all knew, even Elizabeth and Cyrus and Abby. We didn't tell her and we should have. We betrayed her by keeping it from her".

Fitz grabbed one of the phones inside the Residence. "Get me the Chief of Security please, ASAP".

"Miles, I need you to look at the surveillance footage, starting 10 minutes from now and tell me where the Phoenix is".

He listened carefully at what was being said on the other side of the line. "I know there are a lot of people walking around the White House. I don't care, use facial recognition and find her. I'll hold".

Jake took his phone and speed-dialed Emma's number.

Emma looked at her ringing phone and saw it was Jake. She ignored the call. The second time she ignored it, she went on to shutting her phone down.

Jake tried a third time but it went directly to voice mail.

"Damn it! She's turned off her phone".

Fitz was still waiting to hear back from the Chief of Security. "Maybe we can find her through her phone navigation system".

Olivia looked at him. "There's no use in trying. She's closed her phone off. We would need for her to turn it back on and get a signal to do that, but I'll have Huck keep a lookout".

She stepped aside as she called Huck and gave him Emma's phone number asking him to find her position if and when she turned her phone back on.

Fitz turned his attention back to the land line. "Yes? When? Ok thanks Miles. Really appreciate it".

He hung up and looked at Jake. "She left the White House grounds 5 minutes ago".

"Where did she go"? asked Jake.

"Well, your guess is just as good as theirs or mine".

Jake started pacing the floor. "I swear; I'm going to kill Elizabeth North"!

Olivia looked at him. "Jake, Fitz. You both know Emma better than anyone. Can you think of anywhere she might go"?

They both looked at each other and shrugged. Olivia continued. "Somewhere past or present where she would go for comfort"?

"Well, if it were present, I would say the swimming pool or the balcony here in the White House, but she's gone, so I don't think I can be of much help", said Fitz.

Jake stopped in front of the window and looked outside. He was rummaging through his head all of the places Emma could have gone to. There were so many, how could they possibly know where she was headed.

Olivia looked at him. "Jake, I know this may be a long shot, but where is the place that holds the best memory of the two of you"?

"Why do you ask"?

"Because right now, I think that it's what she's going to want to hold on to".

He turned to Olivia and his eyes widened. "I think I know where she would go".

He took his car keys out of his pant pocket and started off.

Fitz looked at him. "Where"?

"Caroline Freeland Park, in Bethesda. There's a nice gazebo there. It's where I asked her to marry me"!

With that Jake rushed out leaving Fitz and Olivia speechless in the Residence.

Olivia started leaving the room to return to their guests. From that instant on, there was nothing more either one of them could do. Fitz grabbed her by the arm and pushed her against the wall.

"This is all your fault"!

She looked at him. "My fault"?

"Yeah, you just had to sleep with him, didn't you"?

She tried to break free from his hold but it was impossible.

"This is as much your fault as it is mine. Need I remind you, you sent Jake to watch over me"!

"Exactly, watch over you, not sleep with you"!

"Well, then all three of us are to blame because Jake made that first move, not me"!

She looked at Fitz. "What is it that really gets underneath your skin? That Jake slept with me while he was technically still married to Emma, or that he slept with me and could have been a better lover than you were"!?

Fitz was slightly taken aback by her question. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "You may want to believe that he was a better lover than I was, but I know every inch of your body and how to make you both beg for me to stop and beg for me to keep going"!

There and then with about 100 guests in the garden, he started kissing her passionately. She tried to push him away. After what had just happened, her initial thought was that he wasn't going to win. But he was right, just as his hand trailed down underneath her dress and removed her underwear and continued to work his magic, she didn't want him to stop. He whispered in her ear again.

"Now, beg me not to stop"!

Her breathing had increased and between breaths she answered him. "Oh… God…don't…. stop"!

She went for his belt and started to unbuckle it. His pants dropped to the floor as he grabbed her and turned her so that her back faced him and pinned her on the wall. He pulled his boxers down, he wanted her so bad. He thrust into her without warning and sent her head spinning and her gasping for air as she moaned. Within minutes they had both come. Fitz got dressed and headed for the door.

"Never imply again, that Jake was a better lover than me. I know you Olivia and I know which buttons I need to push to send you on cloud 9"!

He left the room as Olivia gathered her spirits and got dressed again.

In the car, Jake kept hoping Emma would be there. It was a 35 minute drive from the White House and all throughout the drive over, all he could think about was all the events that had brought them to that December day, where on a romantic snowy evening, in a candlelit gazebo, he had asked Emma to marry him and she had said yes!


	14. We made a pact

Flashback:

"Dr. Grant, there is someone asking for you in the waiting room"?

Emma looked up from the patient file she was reading at the nurse's station.

She smiled at Alison one of the intern nurses.

"Thank you Alison. Did they mention who they were? A patient family member perhaps"?

Alison looked down on at the floor, almost like a teenager who had done something wrong. "No. I'm sorry. I know I should have asked but I didn't".

Emma put her hand on Alison's shoulder. "That's OK, don't worry about it. Why don't you and Nancy go prep Major Amberson for his surgery"?

Alison lifted her head in better spirits and nodded in agreement.

Emma closed the file, grabbed her stethoscope from the counter and placed it around her neck as she walked away and headed to the waiting room.

She passed the two bay doors and entered the room. It was busy. That sure wasn't going to help her to determine who had been asking for her. She gave the room a quick sweep. There was a mix of people, some men and women in uniform and others civilians; it could have been anyone. Then she saw him as he stood from his chair. He was in uniform and he looked sexier than ever.

Her heart paced and her breathing accelerated as he walked towards her with a look and a smile that made her feel self-conscious. He stopped a few inches from her.

"Hello Emma".

"Jake", she said smiling. "What are you doing here"?

"Well, I'm actually at the Pentagon for the week and I thought it would be a real pity, my being so close by and not stopping to see you".

"I agree. It would have been a terrible mistake".

They smiled at each other and he discreetly took her hand in his.

"And of course, I was kind of getting tired of phone sex".

Emma laughed. "You're absolutely right, there is nothing like having a more hands on experience".

She moved in to close the gap between them and put her arms around him.

He looked around. "Where not going to get in trouble for doing this are we? For being this close while you are at work"?

She nodded no. "So what did you have in mind"?

He smiled. "Well, I was thinking of this kind of scenario, tell me what you think. Discreet, professional military by day and loving, yearning boyfriend by night? I would use other terms to describe exactly what I want to do to you every night this week, but we're in public and it wouldn't be suitable".

She bit her lip. She could precisely imagine what he had in mind. "I think I like your scenario, Captain Ballard"!

"What time do you get off shift"?

Emma looked at her watch. "I get off at 6". It was 2 PM which meant that the four remaining hours, knowing what she had waiting for her tonight, would be dragging on and on.

"Great. I'm done at 5. I'll come pick you up and we can go eat dinner and go back to my hotel"!

"Why don't you pick me up at 6, skip dinner, order room service and you show me how bad you've missed me"!

Jake lifted his eyebrow.

A small cough was heard behind Emma. Emma turned her head to find Nancy standing behind her.

"I'm sorry Dr. Grant, Major Amberson is prepped for surgery and ready to go".

Emma nodded. "I'll be right there". She turned her attention back to Jake. "I've got to go; I'm needed in surgery".

She leaned in and kissed him and even if it was soft and short, they both felt the sexual tension that had built over the three weeks they had been apart. Sure they had been phone calls, emails, texts, phone sex, even some hot Skyping but they both knew that nothing could replace the touch of their hands, lips, tongues on each other's skin.

She pulled back slowly as they looked in each other's eyes. Then she turned and started to walk away. As she got to the bay doors, she turned around and gave Jake one last look. "Don't be late"!

He placed his arms and hands behind his back. "Sweetheart, when it comes to you I'll never be late, I'll always be early! Now go and save lives"!

She walked away and met up with Nancy in the hallway.

"Now girl, you've got to tell me who that handsome looking man was"!

Emma smiled as they continued to walk towards the OR ward. "A friend of my brother's and all I can say is that I hope his name will be long-term"!

Emma's surgery over, she headed to check up on a few patients before heading to the locker room to shower and change. As she finished putting on her jeans and her button-down shirt, her phone rang. She grabbed it from inside her locker. It was Fitz.

"Hey Fitz".

"Hey Sis. I'm not disturbing you am I"?

"No, not at all. I've just finished my shift. I'm about to head home". Big lie but who cared!

"Great listen, I need to ask you a favor".

"As long as it has nothing to do with Dad, shoot"!

"You remember my friend Captain Jake Ballard, from Thanksgiving right. Stupid me, of course you remember, you two seemed to get along".

"Yes Fitz, I remember him".

"Well I know that he's in the Pentagon this week, arrived this morning and well… I thought that, I don't know, maybe you could reach out to him"?

Emma laughed inside. "Reach out to him"?

"Yeah, nothing major, just maybe offer to go out for a drink or dinner.. I know him and he's going to stay cooped up in that hotel of his every night and so I thought that maybe since he knows you a little bit, he'd agree to step out on a night in town, between friends".

Emma said nothing. What Fitz would do and say if he only he knew the truth. Yet besides that Emma did find it rather funny considering the situation.

"Look forget I asked. I'm sure you're extremely busy with work and you've got your own group of friends. I told him I would come with him to the Pentagon and tend to some business of my own but I got pulled into another obligation that required for me to stay here.. I just felt bad ditching him is all".

"Fitz, say no more. Send me his mobile phone number and I'll 'reach out' like you've said".

"Really"?

"Yep.. not a problem. I'm sure I can spare an evening of my busy work and social agenda to have a drink with Jake".

"You are one amazing person you know that Emma? I love you and owe you one for this. I'll text you his number. I've got to run. Talk to you later"!

With that Fitz hung up. Emma closed her locker and grabbed her coat and purse and headed to the main entrance of the hospital. Jake was waiting for her as planned. He had changed and was wearing a pair of jeans, a shirt and a leather jacket.

He amusingly looked at his watch. "You're late"!

She kissed him passionately. "I have an excuse".

"Oh you do, do you"?

She grabbed his hand and they walked outside. "I was detained by Fitz. He called me".

Jake looked at her with a questioned look on his face. Seeing the look on his face she continued. "He called me to tell me that you were at the Pentagon this week and alone… that he was wondering if I minded reaching out to you and see if you wanted to go out for a drink or dinner…as friends".

Jake put his arm around Emma and in the cold December night pulled her in closer. "You don't say.. and what did you say"?

"I told him that I would reach out and that I would most probably be able to find some time in my busy social agenda to grant you with my presence".

"Busy social agenda"?

"Yes… you see, I'm kind of seeing this really hot, good-looking, handsome, sexy military Captain and he just happens to be in town this week and I'm going to be very, very busy"!

They laughed as they jumped into a cab and headed for Jake's hotel. Although they managed to hold back their burning desire in the cab, once Jake opened the door to his hotel room, they were on each other like in no time.

They took off each other's jackets as they kissed. He started to unbutton her shirt but got impatient and after two buttons, with his strong hands, grabbed both sides and pulled them apart, sending the buttons flying. She panted as she came up for air as she pushed him away to remove his shirt. They took off each other's jeans and undergarments and for just one second, in the dimmed light they looked at each other. The wave of passion came even stronger as he lifted her and she straddled him. He brought her to the desk and sat her down on the edge and covered her entire body with his touch, his lips, his mouth, his tongue, before taking her and making her moan, scream his name in pleasure. Even though their first reuniting was rough, they took their time the rest of the night… When they finally crashed in each other's arms in the wee hours of the morning, between the sex, the room service and talking, Jake found himself saying something he had never said to any other woman before.

"Emma, I'm falling in love with you", he said as he caressed her bare shoulder.

Emma smiled. "I know. So am I Jake"!

End Flashback

Emma leaned over the gazebo railing. The park was crowded but people hardly ever stopped at the gazebo, only used it as a temporary resting point or passage from one side to the other. She was aching inside. She and Jake had often come to that same gazebo but never in all those times had she felt how she was feeling right there and then.

Couples were sitting in the grass, talking or soaking up the sun, children were running around and either playing in the grass or on the nearby playground. Some people were jogging or walking their dogs. All in all, the place hadn't changed in the last 10 years. She had often imagined herself and Jake bringing their children to the park, to build a snowman during the winter, pick up leaves during the fall, picking flowers in the spring and enjoying the beautiful summer sun as a family. That had all but vanished. Here she was years later, the furthest away possible from where she had hoped to be.

She felt a presence by her side leaning over the railing. Even if she could see him from the corner of her eye, she would have known it was him even with her eyes closed. It could have been the smell he carried or simply how her body reacted when he was near her, but she knew it was Jake.

"Emma"?

She didn't turn her head to look at him. Instead she kept her eyes on the park scene. Jake was at a loss for words. She had been through so much already and had made remarkable efforts to resume their life together that he didn't know what to say, to help her go through this.

"Emma, I'm sorry".

"I know you are. You know this is even harder than my coming to terms with you dying. I know things were different for you when I was gone, but it hurts… it really hurts Jake, deep inside".

He wanted to touch her, to take her into his arms but he was so afraid to break her even more. She was like a beautiful porcelain vase with a huge crack and he knew that by moving it the slightest bit, it could break into a million pieces that he would never be able to put back together.

"I never meant for this to hurt you and you're right things were different back then for me".

"I want to be so mad at you and Olivia and Fitz, but I can't be. I don't have a right to be mad".

"Yes you do! And I would completely understand you being angry, just like I understand you are hurting now. I wish I could take it all back, I wish it had never happened and that you would never have to feel this way, but I can't. So the only thing I can do is try to make it better. Emma, I love you! I am here, by your side, I need you and even if I have to spend the rest of my life proving to you that Olivia didn't matter and was a mistake, then that is what I'll spend it doing. I don't want to lose you! I don't want this to break us"!

Emma turned her head and looked at him. His eyes were filled with fear and pain and tearing up. He was looking at her in search of an answer. Not forgiveness, just an answer on how they could get over this boulder.

As he looked at her, he saw that she had been crying. Her eyes were red and blotchy and her make-up had run slightly. It was his turn to hurt. Knowing that he had hurt her, made her run away and return to their place, it tore him apart inside.

She looked again at the park. "We made a pact remember"?

He was thrown off course by her words. He swallowed and barely managed to answer. "Yes, I remember".

"That's why I don't have the right to be angry at you. This is what we agreed to. We agreed to that to protect ourselves, but we never imagined this particular outcome".

She was right, this had never been a scenario they had envisioned.

The pact had come when she had been scheduled to depart on her first tour in Afghanistan. Generally, it was the basic simple things you had to make sure were handled. A copy of the will, last wishes, medical care, DNRs, but as close a married and loving couple as they were, they had gone a step further. They had also decided that if something happened to either one of them, a coma or even death, that the other one that was left behind, would go on with their life. And going on with their lives would mean seeing new people, dating and eventually get married again and have kids. Emma thought that 3 years sounded like a good time to finally let go and move on (she hadn't said it thinking of herself but more for an out on Jake's side) but Jake had told her that it would be impossible for him to move on after three years… in the end they had agreed to five years. No one knew about their pact. Some would have thought it to be preposterous but to them it was a way of showing each other how much they loved one another.

Jake shakily and uncertainly placed his hand on hers. "I want you to know that I didn't follow the terms of our pact". She was shocked and even more hurt by his words. She tried to remove her hand from under his, but he held on to it too tight. "What, I want to tell you is that I didn't wait for five years… I waited for seven years Emma. It had nothing to do with you being MIA and not officially confirmed dead. I waited seven years because you were the only woman I ever loved and for seven years, I could never imagine myself with anyone else. I lost my friend, my soulmate, my wife and no one, no one has ever come close to replacing you, not then, not now, not never"!

Emma turned her head and looked at him. She was crying. He gently took her into his arms and when she let him and he was able to hold her against him, he gave a sigh of relief.

"I want to make another pact", she said.

"I want you to promise me that we are never to speak about this ever again. I don't want to know why, who, what, where, when or how many times it happened. But if you love me, don't ever look at Olivia, like you did earlier, don't flirt, don't play games. She wasn't your mistress and she better never be, because if you can't respect that, you will lose me forever and there will be no turning back. It'll be too late".

"I promise. Can I take you home now"?

She nodded. "No… I want to stay here a bit longer, if that's ok with you"?

"Of course".

They stayed there a bit longer, not saying anything but both without knowing it thinking about their future and making plans and promises they would never break!


	15. We have a problem!

Jake had kept his promise and had advised Fitz and Olivia not to mention the incident or the past events to preserve Emma and along with it their couple. Yet no matter how hard Emma tried, knowing what had happened, had been like opening Pandora's box, it was almost impossible to close it back up. She tried hard not to think about Olivia and Jake together but when she least expected it during the day or sometimes while she was asleep, flashes popped in her head of the two of them together. During the day, she would quickly shut out the thoughts but when it came in the shape and form of a nightmare, it was much harder, it wasn't something she could control.

When the alarm clock rang at 6 o'clock, Jake woke up surprised not to find Emma lying in bed beside him. He got up, put on his boxers and walked out of the room. Emma was sitting in the sofa, rolled up in a blanket and holding a cup in her hand. She seemed miles away.

"You're up early, everything ok"?

She blinked a couple of times to bring herself back from wherever she was and looked at him.

"Yes. I just had a nightmare and couldn't sleep anymore. I didn't want to wake you".

Jake grabbed his shirt that he had left on the back of one of the chairs and passed it over his head.

"You should have. We could have talked about it. How long have you been up"?

She shrugged. "I don't know it must have been around half past four. It was a stupid nightmare really, don't worry about it. I'm fine".

He walked over to the sofa and sat on the table across from her. "Maybe you should talk to Dr. Finley about it in your next session, just in case".

Emma simply nodded. She wanted to move on, they needed to move on. So how in the world, do you look your husband straight in the eye and tell him he is the reason for your nightmares?

"That's a good idea", she said, knowing that she was lying. She would never discuss it with Dr. Finley, he was merely there to help her cope with had happened to her and how best to readapt to her life back home.

She put her cup down on the table and looked at Jake. He had that look again on his face, the look of guilt. She remembered how when she had talked to Olivia about how Jake looked at her, she had mentioned guilt and now she knew why.

"Honey, I've been thinking about something and I want to run it by you first".

Jake looked at her concerned. "What is it"?

"I want to go back to work".

Jake leaned in. "Sweetheart, are you sure that's a good idea"?

"What do you mean"?

"Well it's not as if we financially needed for you to rush back into going to work and I just want to make sure that you are really physically and emotionally ready to go back to work. Have you spoken to Dr. Finley about this yet"?

Emma stood and grabbed her empty cup to bring it to the dishwasher.

"Yes. Medically, he sees no objection as to my going back to work, but it's going to take time. I haven't practiced in ten years. A lot of things have changed in medicine and there have been medical advancements. Look, I don't want to claim that I'm still 100% apt to resume my medical career as it was before all of this happened, but if I want someday to operate again, I need to get up to speed, even if it means starting back at the bottom of the ladder".

Jake stood. "I see you've given this a lot of thought". Emma had always been so thorough in everything, she wasn't impulsive and she had apparently done her homework. Then again, being alone everyday would have given her ample time to perfectly plan her return.

"Where were you thinking of practicing"?

She walked back slowly towards the sofa. "Well, I'm still part of the military, so I was thinking of going back to Walter Reed. I still know a lot of people there and I think it would be a great way to get back into it smoothly. Dr. Dave Romano is Chief of Surgery, he was one of my mentors when I first started out. I was thinking of having a chat with him, but like I said I wanted to get your feel on this first".

Jake nodded silently. "I think you should do it. You're an amazing doctor and surgeon and I'm sure you'd be back 100% before you know it"!

Emma smiled. "You mean that"?

Jake stood and took Emma in his arms. "Of course I do! You are strong, smart, brilliant and talented. Walter Reed would be at a loss if they didn't take you back on board"!

He caressed her cheek and she smiled. "I love you so much"!

She leaned in to kiss him. "I love you too"!

He looked at his watch. "I'd better get going or else I'm going to be late. I've got my hands full today"!

"Why don't you go finish to get ready, I'll make you some eggs and bacon before you go".

"Sounds great"! He walked back into the bedroom to finish getting dressed while Emma went to the kitchen.

Flashback:

"Smells great in here"! said Fitz as he entered the kitchen. Emma was standing behind the stovetop preparing what seemed to be eggs, bacon and pancakes.

He walked over to her and planted a kiss on her cheek. "You know we have people who can do that".

She looked at him. She was wearing a pair of leggings and a t-shirt. It was two days till Christmas and she had arrived the night before.

"Yeah well, last time I checked, I could still prepare breakfast. Besides I was up early and bored".

Fitz sat down at the counter. "So what did you do with the Chef? Lock him up in the pantry? Knowing him, he would never have accepted that you even got that close to the stove".

Emma laughed. "Fitz, I have a lot of charm and trust me it works when needed"! Fitz laughed in turn. "No, I'm kidding, I simply told him he should take this opportunity to go buy his family Christmas presents. He, indeed thought it was a good idea".

Mellie arrived in the kitchen with Jerry and Karen trailing behind. "Good morning. Wow Emma you did all this"?

Emma nodded. "Ok, everyone, eat up or everything is going to get cold", said Emma as she placed the different platters filled with food on the counter.

As the entire family dived in their plates, Emma looked at her watch. It was almost nine. Jake was due to arrive sometime mid-afternoon and she was impatient. Their week together two weeks ago had been amazing and had only comforted her in affirming her feelings for him. Even if they hadn't darn right out and said 'I love you' to each other, the simple fact of saying that they were falling in love was just as defining.

The doorbell rang. Fitz looked at Mellie and they both shrugged. Emma looked at them too. She had already eaten whereas they were still doing so. She stood. "Don't worry, finish up, I'll go see what it is".

"You're sure"? asked Mellie.

"Of course. But if I'm not back in ten minutes, call 911"!

Emma walked away and headed for the main hall and to the front door. The minute she opened the door, she melted. Leaning against the door frame was Jake!

He looked at her and his eyes danced as he smiled.

"You know to be honest, I prefer you without your clothes on"!

She smiled. "What are you doing here"?

He walked in. "I'm here for Christmas and New Year's remember"?

He moved in closer to her. "I know but you weren't supposed to get here before mid-afternoon".

He took her into his arms. "I got an earlier flight. Where is everyone"? He said as he looked around the main hall.

"In the kitchen having breakfast".

"Good, then I can do this". He pulled her in tighter and kissed her passionately.

"Emma"? they heard as footsteps came their way. She could recognize those in her sleep. It was Fitz. She looked at Jake and shook her head no as she parted from him. "Emma is everything alright"?

Fitz entered the main hall. "Ah, Jake, you managed to get here earlier. Great news"! They gave each other a man hug. Fitz looked at Emma. "I told you Jake was coming right"?

"Yes you did. It's nice to see you again Jake".

"Likewise".

"Hey by the way, did you two ever get a chance to hook up while you were at the Pentagon"?

Jake laughed. "It was hard. Your sister has a very busy social calendar, but yes she did manage to spare me a couple of hours of her time for a quick dinner. It was much appreciated. Otherwise I'm sure I would not have left my hotel room"!

He looked at Emma and winked. She blushed. They had not left that hotel room at all. The only dinner they had managed to eat every night was room service.

Fitz looked at Emma. "Well, I'm glad you did. Emma are you okay"?

Emma turned her attention to Fitz. "Yes. Why"?

"I don't know you look a little flustered and your cheeks are red. You're not getting sick are you"?

Emma shrugged. "Must be the heat, you know it's really cold out east this time of year".

"Well come on Jake, come have some breakfast, Emma's treat, you can get settled in later".

Fitz walked away with Jake at his side leaving Emma to fan herself in desperate hope to get her cheeks back to normal. Jake turned around and gave her a huge smile.

The rest of the day went by in a flash. Between the chats, playing with the kids outside, reading and eating, lunch and dinner. Jake and Fitz were inseparable and it kind of suited Emma. She was more than certain that she would not be able to concentrate or have her body hide its emotions if he were to be too close to her.

That night as they both retreated to their respected rooms Jake pulled her into his room and they had made love most of the night.. lucky for them, Fitz and Mellie were in another wing.

As the sun rose, Emma awoke in his arms. He was looking at her. "Were you watching me sleep"?

"Yes. I like watching you sleep. Its peaceful".

They kissed. "We need to tell Fitz"!

She pulled back and looked at him with eyes wide opened. "What? Why"?

"Because, I'm done hiding. Do you have the faintest idea how hard it is for me? I can't hold your hand, take you in my arms, kiss you, let alone spend the night with you without feeling like a teenager hiding from its parents".

"It's too soon", she said as she sat up in bed and crossed her legs.

His fingers caressed her knee. "Emma… we've managed to keep this relationship going for a month now and all of that long distance. I'm in this for the long term and if I wasn't trust me I'd have called it quits by now and I sure as hell wouldn't want to tell Fitz, if it wasn't the case. I don't know how Fitz is going to react to our being together but I so want to be with you, build something with you, that I'm willing to take the chance of getting punched in the face or worse".

Emma laughed. It's true that Fitz wasn't violent, but he had always been so overprotective of Emma that you could never be a 100% sure that he would remain calm.

"Fitz adores you. You are his best friend; he would never hurt you".

"Ah see, that you don't know …. There's a difference between being a best friend and sleeping with his sister"!

"Then don't tell him"!

"Ems… let's do it.. let's just get it out into the open and over with".

Emma bit her lip. Ems… she loved the way he had chosen to call her that. No one else had ever done it. She knew he was right, she too wanted to stop hiding, but she was scared. Not of Fitz, not of Jake but for herself. Once out in the open, it got real. When things got real, they got complicated and then usually it all came tumbling down and that was the one thing she didn't want.

"Fine. But on two conditions".

"Shoot"!

"One, we tell them after Christmas. Christmas is a big family thing here and I don't want 'us' to be the object of attention".

"Agreed. What's the other condition"?

"I don't want it to change anything between us and by that I mean in a negative way. Regardless of what others might think or say".

He tilted his head to the side and looked at her. "So that's what you're afraid of. You think this will be the beginning of the end… sweetheart, if it is anything, it's the end of the beginning and you and I, we still have a long way to go"!

Flashback ends.

Jake looked up from his desk as he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in". It was his secretary Megan. She walked in with a big file in her hand.

"Here you are. This is the file you asked for. Will there be anything else"?

She handed the file over to him and he shook his head.

"No that will be all, thanks".

Megan nodded and left the room.

Jake placed the file on his desk and looked at it. It was written 'confidential' in big red capital letters. He had often debated whether or not to go ahead with it, but he needed…he needed to know. He opened the file and looked at the title page of the report. It read 'Operation Phoenix, briefing and depositions'. He leaned back in his chair, passed his hands over his face, then took the file and started to flip through and read the pages. Every once in a while, he would close his eyes, pinch his lips, placed a hand over his mouth, at times he would even put down the file, get up and walk around, drink a sip of water before returning to his reading. He had never imagined all she had gone through. Of course he knew of the fractures and the scars, but it was a whole different thing to know how they came about. As he continued reading, a particular moment of her deposition startled him…he kept reading. As he read, his eyes grew wider… wider in disbelief! He reread the paragraph a second time, then closed the file, grabbed his jacket, took the file and hurried out of his office.

"I can't believe you are bringing this up again! Fitz we agreed to this when I decided to move back in"!

Fitz paced the floor of their room. "That was months ago. Things have changed. I've changed and don't tell me it's not true".

"Yes, you have changed and I love you for it but it still doesn't change the situation".

"Give me one good reason Liv".

"You are the President of the United States… that should be a good enough reason don't you think"?

"I have two years left on my term Liv and then I'm done. I don't see the point of waiting two years. What difference does it make? It won't change us or our relationship".

"Exactly so why rush into this"?

He stopped dead in his tracks and narrowed his look on her. "Rush into it? We've been together for years and you think we'd be rushing into it"?

Seeing how he reacted made her wince. "I didn't mean it like that, I meant we don't have to hurry, we've got all the time in the world".

"So you still won't marry me"?

"….no. Not now. Please Fitz don't do this.. we were on the same page when we agreed to this. Don't make me out to be the bad person here".

"Yeah well, it was either agreeing to this or losing you forever… you didn't really leave me a choice did you? Look, forget I asked.. but just so that we're clear, I may never ask you again, so do me a favor.. don't rush into making your decision".

With that he walked out and left the wing to head for the West Wing and the Oval Office. He had but only been in it for less than an hour when Jake barged in and walked over to his desk. Fitz stood.

"We have a problem"! He said as dropped the file on Fitz's desk. Fitz opened the front cover and when he realized what he was looking at, he slowly sank into his chair and looked at Jake.


	16. The Sculpture Garden

Fitz closed his fists and placed them on his desk as he stood enraged.

"What the hell are you doing with Emma's file? It's confidential and classified"!

"I'm the Director of the NSA, there is no such thing as confidential or classified when it comes to me"!

"This is not just any file Jake, this is about Emma. It's personal and I'm sure it has no impact on National Security. Why would you even think about using your status to access this information"?

"Why? You are really asking me why? Maybe because she's my wife. Maybe because she's having nightmares and hardly sleeps at night. Maybe because she thinks that what she went through is too horrible to tell me, when actually I could cope with it but I can't tell her. Take your pick"!

Olivia walked in. "What is going on in here? We can hear you both yelling from the hallway".

Jake looked at Olivia. "It's nothing".

Fitz threw his arms up in the air. "There you go again, saying it's nothing. This is a big deal, you have surpassed your privileges".

Olivia looked at Fitz. "He has Emma's file".

Olivia's eyes opened wide. "There is a file on Emma"?

Fitz nodded. "It's standard military procedure.. they took her deposition on the events".

"You mean she had to relive the past ten years of her life so that the Army could simply follow protocol and then leave it in a room filled with other military files to accumulate dust? Why does that sound horrible to me"?

"this is military protocol Liv.. you wouldn't understand".

Olivia crossed her arms. "Well, I beg to differ..".

Fitz cut her off. "Yeah well you seem to be doing that a lot today…not agreeing with me"…

"This has nothing to do with you and me Fitz… we are talking about the fact that your sister had to recount and relive her torture, just so that someone could have a soft copy".

Jake looked from one to the other.

"Excuse me… look I don't really know what's going on with you two and to be fair, I don't want to know, but we've got a bigger problem then what is bothering the both of you or the fact that I have this file in my possession".

Fitz sat back down. This had all but managed to exhaust him in less than five minutes. "What kind of problem are you talking about"?

"Open the file and go to her deposition dated June 2nd, third paragraph… read it out loud".

Fitz did as Jake told him.

"Do you remember anything else about the people who had you in custody?" "No. I usually saw the same four men. They seemed to be working in shifts, 2 during the day and 2 during the night. Sometimes they overlapped… that's when the torture ssessions took place". Major Grant pauses for a moment. "Wait… I do remember somebody else". "What did he look like"? "I don't know I never saw him". "So how do you know he was a different person than the four who generally handled you"? "Because of his voice. He had a deep voice, calm, poised and unlike the others he had no accent when speaking English with them". "Do you recall what he would speak to them about"? "Well from what I could make out, he seemed to be in charge, he appeared to give them orders". "Was he there all the time"? "No. I don't think so". "How often would you say he was there"? "It's hard to tell, you stop keeping track of time, you lose your bearings… I'd say maybe every two-three months, maybe more, again, I lost track of time after a while". "So would you say this person was American"? "Yes… I think he was or maybe a foreigner who had done most of his studies in the United States. Like I said, there was no accent, no mistakes when he spoke". Major Grant pauses again and takes a sip of water and then amazingly laughs quietly. "Aside from one of the sentences he said once". "What would that be Major"? "One day, I remember, they seemed to be arguing…He said that they were to do as he told them to, that he was in charge and then he said something that made me tick because his sentence structure was wrong.. it could have well been because he was angry and yelling but still". "I'm sorry Major but would you please get to the point". "Yes, right I'm sorry. Well he should have said 'I'm in command.. but what he was saying was 'I am command'"!

Fitz's voice trailed off as he finished that sentence. Even if he had wanted to continue reading, he would have been incapable of doing so, he was unable to speak a word… The file fell from his hands as he looked at Jake, then at Olivia, who in turn had needed to sit down in the sofa. Jake said nothing but also looked at Fitz and Olivia.

Fitz took the file again and read the last sentence of Emma's deposition. Then he looked at Jake. "This can't be. It's impossible".

"Is it really Fitz"? asked Jake. Fitz said nothing but simply stood and headed to the window.

"Fitz, I read that sentence over and over in my head. Emma never heard of B613, she never heard anyone mention the name of Command. And for some reason it all makes horrible sense".

"My father would never do this"! said Olivia in disbelief.

"Olivia", said Jake, "I've seen your father do much worse and ask of us things you would never even imagine. He is more than capable of having put this in action".

Fitz turned around. "You say that this makes sense, how? I mean what was the point? I wasn't President of the United States, he wasn't using Emma to get to me, so why"?

Jake sighed. "Why? I don't know exactly. But the way it makes sense is how all of a sudden you got an anonymous tip about Emma's whereabouts. He was no longer Command, there was no one giving them orders anymore. My guess is that they panicked and when they didn't hear from him, they leaked the tip so that we could find Emma and bring her home".

Olivia looked at Jake. "You were Command yourself. You said you had access and read all of the files that dealt with B613 and you didn't find anything about Emma. So how can you insinuate that my father, while being Command, had something to do with this"?

Jake shrugged. "I don't know why I never came across a file or a mission concerning Emma. Olivia don't underestimate your father. He would most have probably known that if he went down, that I would take over. He must have kept this file under very good lock and keep so that I wouldn't know. But all I know is that I'm more than 100% sure that he was behind all of this, that B613 is the organization that kidnapped Emma".

Fitz finally turned away from the window. "Well, there is nothing we can do about it. B613 has been dismantled, it doesn't exist anymore. Emma doesn't need to know. I don't want her to know. It sure as hell won't bring back the 10 years she lost".

He walked over and served himself a glass of Scotch.

"I think you don't seem to understand why we have a problem Fitz", said Jake.

"I do…", said Olivia quietly.

Fitz looked at both of them. "I don't understand. What problem are you talking about"?

Olivia looked at Fitz. "My father".

Jake nodded. "B613 might have been dismantled and no longer exist, but he is and always be Command and Emma is free now and the entire Nation knows about it. And well"… his voice trailed off as he looked at Olivia. "With your father still around, Emma is far from being safe".

Olivia stood. "You really think that my father would go after Emma? I think that's absurd. For what reason"?

"I don't know Olivia, but do you really want to take that chance? All of us in this room now what he is capable of, for B613 or for his own account".

Fitz looked at Jake. "Where's Emma"?

Jake looked at his watch. "I'm not sure. She could be home or she could be out. I don't keep tabs on your sister Fitz".

"Then call her and find out where she is. I'm going to request detail for her from now on. We are not taking any chances".

Jake took out his phone as Fitz called the Chief of Security.

Emma's phone rang in her purse. She leaned over and took it out. "Hey… I thought you had a busy day today".

Jake gave a sigh of relief. "Hey gorgeous..I was wondering what you were up to".

"Well, it's a nice day so I after my chat with Dave, I hopped in a taxi and had the driver drop me off at the Sculpture Garden".

Jake lifted an eyebrow. "So you are near the White House then"?

Emma smiled. "Yes, why"?

"Well it just so happens that I'm heading out of the White House. Why don't I come join you so that we can go home together"?

"What a great idea. OK. Well I'm near the Red Horse sculpture. I'll wait for you".

"Ok, I'm on my way. See you in a bit".

Jake hung up. "She's at the Sculpture Garden. I'm going to go meet her there and take her home".

Fitz who had also hung up looked at Jake. "Detail will be operational in a couple of hours. You sure you don't want to wait"?

"No. She's safe with me and you know it. Besides, I only want detail when she's alone. I can handle Eli and anyone he sends. I still don't know how to explain the fact that she's going to need Secret Service Agents hanging around her when I'm not there".

Olivia looked at Fitz, then at Jake. "Just tell her that the President has received threats concerning her and that he's simply looking out for her. She'll understand, I'm sure. Unless you want to move Emma back into the Residence"?

"That won't be necessary". Jake said as he walked out in a haste to get to Emma. He felt as though he had just gotten Emma back. Their marriage was OK but he knew it was still shaky and vulnerable. The last thing he needed was to have her away from him.

"It's a beautiful day isn't it"?

Emma who had been reading her book, looked up. A man in his sixties was standing in front of her. She smiled politely. "Yes it is".

The man motioned to the empty spot on the bench next to Emma. "May I"?

"Of course". She took her purse from the bench and placed it at her feet, giving the man more room to sit.

The man looked at her. "Do I know you"?

Emma smiled. "No. I don't think so".

The man looked at her again. "Wait, you are President Grant's sister. I remember now. I saw his press conference a while back and your picture in the newspaper".

Emma said nothing but just nodded.

The man put his hand out. "My name is Eli. Eli Pope".

Emma politely shook his hand. "Emma Grant". She paused for a moment. "Pope? Any relation to Olivia Pope"?

Eli gave Emma his biggest and proudest smile. "I'm her father".

Emma blinked a couple of times. "Oh. Mr. Pope, I'm sorry, I didn't know. I mean I know Olivia has a father but I didn't know your name or what you looked like".

"Well no harm done. Olivia is a very busy person. I don't get to see her as often as I would like. You two are close"?

"Well, she is with my brother, so technically my sister-in-law, so I would say we are but just as you, I don't get to see her very often".

Eli nodded. "So what is a charming young woman like yourself doing here alone on such a beautiful day"?

"Enjoying the last beautiful days before the cold settles in and I'm also waiting for my husband".

"Ah.. I see. So what is it that you do"?

"Right now nothing much. I used to be a surgeon but that was a long time ago. What do you do for a living Eli"? 

"Well, I work for the Smithsonian, I'm a curator".

"Must be very interesting".

"For me it is, but most people find it rather boring. You should stop over sometime, I could show you around some of our best expositions".

"I appreciate the offer Eli, thank you".

"The pleasure is all mine".

Jake turned the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. There sitting beside Emma was none other than Command himself. His blood was boiling. There was really no stopping him. He knew he was up to something, it was no coincidence that he just happened to pick that spot on that particular day…it basically meant that he was following Emma and Jake didn't like what that meant!

He started walking and stopped in front of Emma.

"Hey gorgeous".

Emma looked up and smiled. "Hey, you". She paused for a moment as he bent over and kissed her. "Jake, I don't know if you've met before but this is Olivia's father, Eli Pope".

Eli looked at Jake and put his hand out.

Jake looked him straight in the eye but relaxed. He didn't want to alarm Emma. He took Eli's hand in his.

"No, I don't think we've met before. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Pope".

"The pleasure is all mine".

Jake's handshake was a bit tighter than usual, but he was trying to get a message across.

Eli smiled between his teeth, then looked at Emma. "You are a very lucky man. She's charming".

Emma stood as Jake put his arm around her waist. "Yes, I know, thank you. Well it was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Pope".

Eli nodded as he watched Emma and Jake walk away. Before turning the corner, Jake turned around and gave Eli one last look. Eli simply nodded and smiled away and knowing Command sometimes that was even worse than a cold, indifferent stare. Yet Jake was more than willing to lay his life on the line to save Emma's!


	17. What's keeping you up?

Emma looked out of the door's peeping hole and sighed. She turned and walked back to the bedroom where Jake was getting ready to go to bed.

"I still don't understand why I need to have secret service agents stationed at the door or following me around all day. It's been a month, you would like to think that the threats have stopped or that whoever was perpetrating the threats would have given up by now".

Jake looked at Emma. He knew that this for her was almost an equivalent to being a prisoner. "Sweetheart look, you've got to pretend that they are not there and just go with the flow, until Intel has gotten feedback that the threats against you have been lifted. They're working on it trust me".

He was lying. Nobody was working on it except for him. He had been cautiously tracking all of Eli's activity trying to find some kind of indication as to what he was preparing but he hadn't found the slightest clue… everything led to a dead-end.

"I mean come one Jake, how am I supposed to go back to work next week? They are going to follow me to every consult I'm going to give? It's just impossible and I'm really thinking about not going back to work. My patients don't need to have their doctor constantly followed around by agents carrying guns and ear-pieces".

She paused for a moment.

"And let's not even talk about intimacy"!

Jake who was standing across from her in his boxer shorts smiled. "They are outside in the hall, not in the same room as us you know".

"Haha! Very funny. I know they are not in the same room or even in the apartment but they can still hear us… it's just like, I don't know having sex in your parent's house and them sleeping in the room next door. If it doesn't affect you, great but let me tell you it's having a negative impact on my libido"!

He grabbed her and pulled her in against him. "Maybe I can help"….

"Jake, I'm being serious here".

"So am I. I'm sure I can make you forget they are even here"!

"I doubt that, they are like my shadow…even when I don't see them, I know they are there".

Jake's hands trailed down her back and unzipped the back of her dress.

She looked at him. "You want me, don't you"?

He gave her a sly smile. "You know I do".

"How bad"?

"Too bad".

She pulled away. He smiled thinking that she was going to strip her dress but she didn't.

"Well, if you want me that bad, then get them out of our building".

She walked out of the room and headed to the bathroom and closed the door. He heard her open the shower faucet and he sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. He leaned over to the bedside table and grabbed his phone and dialed a number.

"Can we talk"?

Fitz walked out on the balcony. "Yeah, what's going on"?

"Fitz, you've got to lower the detail level on Emma. We had agreed that it would only be when I'm not around and they are constantly here. This is not working".

"She's my sister, she gets the same security level as I do and that's the way it goes. I can't take a chance, this country can't take a chance".

"Same security level huh? Do your secret service agents follow you into the Residence and post themselves outside your room door"?

"Touché.. but we are impenetrable here. You guys are not. That's the difference. What is the real issue here"?

"Let me put this in a way that won't get too graphic…. If you ever want to be an uncle, at least put them at the building entrance and exit"!

Fitz narrowed his eyes.. "You're asking me to lower security so you can just have sex… you're thinking about your sex life while we still don't know what Pope is planning? You can't be serious".

"Your sister is thinking about our sex life because she has no idea what is happening in the background. What? I'm supposed to just turn away and tell her I don't want to have sex with her, when it's absolutely not true…? I'm already lying about a lot of things but this I will not lie about. Need I remind you that your sister and I are working on becoming as similar a couple as we were before she disappeared? You really want our marriage to work or not? Because if you keep going down this road, I'm not quite sure where this marriage is going to go"!

"If she gets killed or kidnapped again, your marriage will be the least of your problems. Goodnight Jake"!

Jake put his phone down. Emma was still in the shower. He then heard a knock on the door.

He put his pants back on and a shirt and headed for it. When he opened it, Sam one of the agents looked at him.

"Sir, just to inform you that we are on the move. We will be stationed at the main and back doors of the building and when you depart the building and Mrs Ballard is alone, we will resume standard protocol".

Jake nodded and closed the door. He smiled. So maybe in the end Fitz did want to become an uncle!

Emma came out of the bathroom with her towel wrapped around her and stopped in her tracks as she saw Jake smiling at her from the living room.

"What are you smiling about"?

"Take a look outside the door".

"Why? What now?" she said as she walked over to the door. She looked through the peeping hole and then turned around and looked at Jake in disbelief.

"They're gone! What happened"?

Jake shrugged. "I told your brother he was ruining my sex life"!

Emma's eyes opened up wide. "You did not"!

"I did too. I still need to work on him for the hospital part but I thought the sex part of it was more important for the time being".

She walked over to him. "So you did really want me that bad, huh"?

He caressed her arm. "You have no idea".

"Then why don't you show me", she said as she let her towel drop to the floor.

Flashback:

 _Christmas eve and day had rolled around and had filled the entire Grant house with cheer, joy and a lot of eating and drinking. Not to mention the presents underneath the Christmas tree._

 _A couple of days after Christmas, Emma found herself really silent. Jake was egging her on to tell Fitz about the two of them and she wasn't really keen on doing so. Jake thought that it was her way of denying their relationship and that if she told Fitz, well then things became real, maybe too real for her taste. But that wasn't the reason… what she was more afraid of was how suddenly anyone and everyone would 'get involved' in their relationship. It wouldn't be just the two of them anymore; and that is what was scaring her. What if that brought on an extra pressure to their relationship and it fell apart? She didn't want that to happen. So as childish as it was, Jake had decided to give her the cold shoulder until she told Fitz. They hardly spoke or interacted, let alone have sex!_

 _Emma looked at her watch. It was half past midnight and she couldn't sleep. She left her room and quietly headed downstairs and grabbed a blanket from the living room couch, wrapped it around her and went outside to sit on the deck. There was a cold breeze but it was pleasant. It was quiet and the moon was high in the sky in a crescent form. She simply stared at it as she nervously bit her lip. She turned her head around and looked up at the window that was Jake's… the light was turned off. Of course he was having no trouble sleeping. She turned her attention away and gazed out, into nowhere._

 _She heard the back door open and turned her head to see who it was. She was kind of desperately hoping it was Jake coming to put an end to this puerile situation but it was Fitz._

" _Hey… can't sleep either"? he asked as he sat down next to her._

" _No, not really. What about you? What's keeping you up"?_

 _Fitz shrugged. "Ah…politics I guess. But what about you? What's on your mind? Everything OK at school? I mean your internship is almost over and then in a few months you graduate right"?_

 _Emma smiled. "Oh yeah, everything is great. My mentors and the rest of the medical staff are really pleased with how my internship is going; and you are right, only a few more months to go and you'll have to address me by saying Dr."._

 _Fitz smiled proudly. "Great. So it's not school or hospital related…. It is personal stuff that's keeping you up"?_

 _That was something she loved about Fitz… he was always able to make her at ease and to show that he really truly cared about her life, even if they were miles apart. He had always been that older bigger brother she could count on and no matter the time lapse or the distance between them, it had never changed._

 _Emma inhaled and exhaled... well Fitz was really serving this on a silver platter and she would be kind of dumb not to jump on the occasion._

" _It's about a man"._

 _Fitz's eyebrows lifted. "Ah.. I see. And what is there about this man that is keeping you up at night"?_

" _We've been in a relationship for a month now and things are going great"._

" _So what is the problem? He's married? He's one of your mentors or instructors"?_

 _Emma shook her head no. "No of course not! It's just a bit complicated. We live in States that are hours apart and he wants me to tell his best friend about us, but I'm reluctant to"._

" _Well, seems to me like this guy likes you enough to tell his best friend about you, I don't see why you would want to hide it, if your relationship is going well"._

" _Let's say, I'm a bit nervous at how this friend is going to take the news"._

" _Well, that doesn't really matter now does it. I mean if you are happy, who cares what other people think or say. If this guy is your boyfriend's best friend, he should be happy for him"._

 _Fitz put his hand on Emma's. "If you really like or love this guy, I think you should trust him. If he thinks the right time has come in your relationship to tell the entire world, then I think it's a safe bet to say that he's in it for the long run". Fitz paused and smiled. "That's how it was with Mellie… I kept it a secret for a while until I knew that I was falling in love with her, and look where we are now"!_

 _Emma looked at Fitz. "So you think, I should tell his best friend about us"?_

" _Definitely"!_

 _Emma stood from the chair and sat down on the table to be face to face with Fitz. She closed her eyes for a brief second and then looked at him._

" _Fitz…. The guy I'm talking about, it's Jake. Jake and I are together"._

 _Fitz looked at Emma puzzled. The puzzled look went to disbelief as he quickly shot a look at Jake's window. Seeing Fitz not take his look away from the window, Emma looked up and saw that the light was on. That was odd, she remembered that it had been turned off before. Had Jake heard what they had been talking about, was it sheer coincidence that he was awake?_

" _Fitz"?_

 _Both Emma and Fitz turned around at the sound of Jake's voice coming from the beginning of the deck._

 _Fitz stood from his chair and walked over to Jake. Emma feared what was going to happen. The look on Fitz's face when he finally comprehended what Emma had just told him was undecipherable._

" _Fitz, you remember that day at the airport just before Thanksgiving, how you described Emma to me? Well, that is what and who I fell in love with. It wasn't planned, it just happened when neither one of us expected it to, and I love her"!_

 _Emma's heart was beating so fast, she was having a hard time breathing. It was a mix of reasons, the unknown of what Fitz was going to do and also the fact that it was one thing for Jake to tell her he loved her, but it took a whole different meaning when he told someone else, especially her brother._

 _Fitz looked at Jake then at Emma. Emma remained stoic. He then looked back at Jake._

" _You love her"?_

" _Yes, I do"._

" _And you've been able to keep this relationship going since Thanksgiving being so far apart"?_

" _Yes we have"._

" _And how do you know it's going to continue working out"?_

" _Because I know that for my part, I will do everything to make it work. I trust my gut instinct and it's telling me that this is going to work and that it's right"._

 _Jake paused and looked over Fitz's shoulder at Emma, then looked at Fitz again._

" _Do you see that beautiful, caring, intelligent and promising Army doctor sitting there on that table? Well, someday, I'm going to marry her"!_

 _Fitz stared into Jake's eyes for a brief moment. Jake kept his stare on Fitz, it was almost like a showdown, a duel and he was definitely not wavering. He wanted to be with Emma, whether or not Fitz agreed to it or not!_

" _Ok, then. It seems as if you have all this figured out. There's just one thing… you break her heart and I will break every bone in your body and you know I can and I will"._

 _Jake nodded in agreement. "You won't ever have to; you can count on it"!_

" _Ok then, welcome to the family.. even if you were already almost part of it, but at least now it's official"._

 _He shook Jake's hand and gave him a pat on the shoulder before heading towards the door to go back inside. Jake walked over to Emma and joined her side as she stood._

 _Just before going in, Fitz turned around and looked at them. "Oh and next time, get a room"!_

 _Emma looked at Fitz puzzled. "What are you talking about"?_

" _Your preliminaries in the upstairs hallway the day Jake arrived last week"._

" _uh…"!_

" _I saw you on the video footage"!_

" _What video footage"?_

" _I had surveillance cameras installed three weeks ago. I'm a growing political figure, I need to up the security level in the house"._

 _Emma looked at Jake then back at Fitz. "So you knew? All this time you knew and you let me believe you didn't"._

" _I wanted it to come from you. Besides, it was actually fun to see how you brought it up"._

" _Fun? So you're not upset"?_

" _Not the slightest bit. I know the both of you very well. I kind of figured that things might click between the two of you, but nothing was certain. And aside from Mellie and the kids, you are the two people whom I love and care for the most.. I'm happy that those two same people have found each other. So just remember the cameras.. I may be happy that you are together but I'm really not into voyeurism"!_

 _With that he gave them a huge smile and a wink and entered the house._

 _Jake took Emma in his arms. "Well, at least we have your brother's blessing… and that being the case, why don't we stop pretending and you move your stuff into my room"?_

" _Your room, huh"?_

" _Or yours.. it doesn't really matter"._

" _so that's the way it's going down is it? Fitz says everything is OK and now we are moving into each other's rooms. What next"? She said laughing._

 _Jake looked at her mesmerizing eyes. "My apartment in Georgetown"!_

" _Wait, what did you just say"?_

" _That was also a reason I was at the Pentagon. I asked for my transfer. I'm going to be working Intel for the Pentagon starting in February. I already found an apartment and I would really like for you to move in with me"!_

 _End flashback_


End file.
